This game, this life
by All that is good51
Summary: What is a gamer? Someone who plays game? Yes. Someone who complete games? Yes. Someone who enjoy games? Yes. But more importantly, a gamer is a player. Set in modern times. Gender bender (Not Naruto) Rating M for safety. OOC Naruto and others. Need help since author is not familiar with games.
1. Prologue and intro

_Prologue…_

* * *

><p><strong>In this world, there are three rules.<strong>

"Shit! He's running away!"

"Don't let'm get away!"

"Fuck, shoot him!"

**Kill, you win.**

**Win, you'll survive.**

**And if you survive, you've won. **

**That might seem simple. **

Three men, running towards the dark empty suburbs of Japan, somewhere in the middle of Tokyo, are definitely chasing someone. Three of them are dressed rather ruggedly; something that one might consider as unruly. One of them wore a beanie cap, a white polo shirt along with a leather jacket and brown pants with a pair of black boots. Another is dressed in a hoodie with a balaclava covering his face, while his eyes are covered by thick black smoked goggles, he also wears a faded out jeans along with black sneakers. The final one, the one who appears to be the leader of the two, is dressed in a sleeveless t-shirt with a rugged black jacket over it, along with a pair of matching pants and cheap shoes.

**But in actuality, it's much **_**simpler**_**.**

The trio of thugs turned right at a corner, following their target. They've reached an alleyway, cornering their target at the same time. The alleyway is narrow, the three of them barely fits but it's enough when they have a gun to deal with whoever they are chasing…

Right?

"Haa…haa…" the leader of the thugs panted tiredly as he pulled out a gun from his jacket. A Walther P99 is equipped on the man's hands, loaded and aimed at the person they are chasing. The leader's fellow thugs pulled out their guns too, a set of matching Glock 17; which are loaded and aimed at the person too. "Don't ya' fuckin' move, ya' hear!? Else you want to eat lead!" the boss thug shouted, trying to intimidate their pursued.

A moment of silence invades the dark and gloomy alleyway, the three thugs are tensed from the uneasiness. The leader gulped, but managed to maintain a steady grip on his gun. They are armed, their pursued is not. Why should they be afraid… one might wonder.

Oho, it's because of this:

"…Do you really think you can kill me with just those?" the supposed to be pursued asked, the voice distorted through whatever medium he or she is using. The figure of the mysterious person is unidentified; the only thing that could be said about him or her is that he or she is dressed in a thick long coat with a fedora on, while having his or hands in the pockets.

"Tch…!" agitated by their target's lack of reaction and words, the leader stepped forward. "SHUDDUP! You'll be dead! And once you're dead, we'll get your bounty and we'll be rich!" a sickening, greedy and disgusting face roared with glee; soon joined by two others. These men are the epitome of human greed… how sickening.

From the shadows, the mysterious individual did not move, nor did he or she falter from the threat. Instead of panicking, he or she is calm; keeping a straight head on things. One of the thugs, the leader, stepped forward, his gun ready and cocked. "Now… DIE ASSHOLE!"

BANG BANG BANG

.

.

.

Shots were fired, but—

"Where did he—!?"

"He's gone!?"

"Impossib—urhg!"

To the other two thugs' morbid fascination, they found their boss decapitated; head missing from the neck with blood sprouting like fountain. The headless and lifeless body of the boss fell to the ground, drenching it with blood. The two remaining thugs were not given the chance to even scream, much less run. The both of them found themselves being gripped on the neck by an inhumane strength; both chocked and struggled, dropping their guns to the ground. The one with the hoodie tried to grab his captor's arms, but he was quickly overwhelmed by the pressure applied to his neck. The other thug tried to the same, only to be warned in a similar style as his friend.

"G-Gaaaack…!"

"E-Ergh…!"

The two struggled, feeling their energy getting weaker and weaker. Their captor, the mysterious individual who they are chasing, stepped out from the shadows and into the light, showing a masked face with a fedora covering his or her head. The masked individual is tall, dressed in a grey long coat with the straps undone, showing a bulletproof vest underneath the coat. The masked person wore a pair of black cargo pants, with various utilities strapped on his or her thigh. A handle of a knife could be seen strapped to one of the straps on his or her thigh, if one were to look closer.

"…Unlike your boss, you two know when not to mess with people, right?" the distorted voice asked from beyond the mask, almost sarcastically.

"F…Fu…Fuck you…" one managed to utter in his position, spitting at the ground.

"…Well, I'll take that as a no." with that, the masked individual lifted both thugs up further into the air, before slamming their body as hard as he or she can into the ground. What results is a loud, sickening crunching noise, signifying that the thugs' spine has been snapped due to the impact alone. Blood began to ooze out of from the victims' openings, eyes, mouth, ears, nose… it is truly a brutal sight.

But unfortunately, there's no time for sympathy in moments like these.

The masked individual pulled out a small, rectangular object from his or her coat pocket, revealing it to be a smart phone. The screen of the phone lights up, revealing a screen.

Congratulations! You have successfully escaped/dealt with your chasers! You gain 500XP for killing all chasers!

You gain an additional +50XP from using **'Greedy Nature'** perk!

New items available in the shop!

Congratulations! You have leveled up!

"Status." The masked person said out.

Status:

Name: Player (Alias)

Title: -Hidden- (Due to Disguise skill)

Level: 56

Affiliation: None

HP: 9000/9000 (+50% Resistance to attacks aimed at the body, +20% Resistance to attacks aimed at the head due to body armor and ballistic helmet)

SP: 9725/10000

STR: 32

VIT: 40

DEX: 42

INT: 44

WIS: 43

DEF: 23

ATK: 15

LUK: 15

**Status:** -Light Steps-(+10 DEX), -Vigilante- (-5% Reputation with Law enforcement and Gangsters), -Trickster- (+15% chance to the Persuade skill, +10% chance to the Charm skill)

**Items: **

**Handgun (Silenced FN Five-Seven**): A semi automatic handgun with great overall stability and handling +10 ATK when equipped and used. -3 ATK due to silencer.

**Bulletproof Vest (Type III):** A sturdy and bullet resistant vest used by military personnel. Capable of stopping rifle threats.

**Ballistic Mask:** A mask that covers the entire head, more like a helmet. Resistant to handgun threats.

**Active skills:**

Disguise: _You got the wrong person._ A skill that allows the user's true identity to be hidden by the use of clothing. (4/5)

Night vision: _I see you!_ Allows user to see in the dark, Thermal vision is enabled when Night vision skill is upgraded to level 3. (2/5)

Silent Killing_: Sssh… it'll be quick._ User is capable of killing/knocking out targets without producing any noise. (3/5)

**Passive skills:**

Charm: _You got a moment girl?_ Higher chance to convince/persuade the feminine gender. (3/5)

Persuade: _Say…_ Higher chance to convince other people. (4/5)

Light Steps: _Lightly armored means light on the feet._ Capable of moving, walking, running without making the slightest bit of sound. (5/5)

Silent Aura: _Am I here?_ 50% Chance of sneaking successfully. (5/5)

Stealth: _Ninja time!_ Detection when sneaking will become harder. (4/5)

**Active Perks:**

Greedy Nature: +50 XP **–Expiring in 03:32:23–**

**Info: **-None-

**Current Money:** 4,000,000,000 yen.

Satisfied with what he or she is seeing, the masked individual pocketed the phone back into his or her person. Looking up, the dark sky of Tokyo is coming to an end; slowly overcame by the sun that rises from the East. The first sign of dawn makes its appearance; that is the time where the masked person disappeared.

**This is a story about a game and a player. **

**A game that kills and a player who does whatever he wants.**

* * *

><p><em>Prologue ends…<em>

* * *

><p>"Yo! Naru-ru!"<p>

Sighing, Uzumaki Naruto never liked that nickname given to him one bit. Through bespectacled eyes, Naruto's pair of azure eyes glared lazily over at his so called childhood friend, Higurashi Tenten. Tenten is a girl about the same age of him, though she is older by a few months, he is the one with the more mature attitude if comparisons were to be made. Tenten originally had a long waterfall of brown hair, but she kept that into a two Chinese buns style, causing the word 'Panda' to appear on everyone's mind the instant they look at her.

But Tenten is nothing when compared to her childhood friend. Naruto is tall, like way taller than her. He stood about a good 5'9, a not so normal height for the common Japanese folks. In fact, his looks alone are not common if they were to be compared to the Japanese. He has a messy, spiky blonde hair which he kept wild; he's not one to visit the barber often. Aside from that, the pair of radiant blue eyes he posses is another thing that contrasts him with the Japanese. Though there is a quite odd feature about him, those three whiskers like marks on each side of his cheeks…

"What do you want Tenten… I'm sleeping here…" the blonde haired fellow replied—more like groaned—from his desk. With his head rested on the desk, he doesn't feel like answering or paying anyone any attention right now. He groaned louder when he felt a hand grasping his.

"Now don't say that! Cheer up, class is just about to start." The bun girl said to her childhood friend. "Say… did you hear the news this morning? They found three people from the dangerous gangster group called… called…"

"KV8?"

"Yeah! That! So you do watch the news after all…"

From his place, Naruto raised his head to send a bitter look to his childhood friend. "Of course I do… what kind of person do you think am I?"

**KV8: An infamous gang group rumored to have control over all illegal activities in Tokyo, far more influential than the Yakuzas. They are the most recent gang who has captured the attention of Japan's law enforcements, making arrests on their members a top priority. Most of their activities includes: Drug dealing, human trafficking, gang wars, and downright scamming.**

Tenten sent a sly look over at the blonde. "Oh I don't know, I thought that you're just a lonely teenager who's addicted to porn and guns." She laughed when she saw the look that Naruto is making. "Hahaha! I mean, come on, you've been so inactive these past few days… what's wrong with you?" this time, there is a hint of concern in her voice.

Shaking his head, Naruto quickly placed it back onto the desk's surface. "Nothing in particular. I'm just… busy with work you know, I'm a programmer remember? This company that I work for, they wanted to get this project done by the weekend and I was the one, along with a few other people, chosen to complete it." He answered hushedly. "I haven't got a lot of sleep, hence why I'm always tired."

Tenten tapped her friend's back, feeling a little amount of sympathy. "I get what you mean… dad sometimes asks me to arrange the shop's stock, and it'll take me the whole day to do it. If I'm not done by the end of the day, dad will ask me to do it regardless of what time is it." She pouted, crossing her arms when recalling the memory.

"About that… how's your dad doing anyway, I didn't even see him the last time I visited your house and that was like two weeks ago." Naruto ask. He then received a hit to the head, instead of a proper answer. "Ow! What was that for?! Huh?!" he demanded, irritated from his friend's action.

Tenten merely sent him a playful look, before holding an expression of mild disbelief. "Dad's away on a trip to China ever since two weeks ago… I thought I told you this?"

Naruto rubbed his head while sending a glare at Tenten. "Maybe you did… or maybe you didn't. If you did, then that means I've forgotten about it." He returned his head to the desk's surface.

"Jerk."

Out of a sudden, the sound of door sliding was heard throughout the classroom; getting the attention of students. A tall man appeared from the school's corridor. The man looks like he is in his middle ages, around fifty or so. He is tall and burly, dressed in the suit he's wearing, making his look all the more intimidating. But believe it or not, he is a math teacher, along with being the homeroom teacher for this class.

"Alright class settle down, we'll begin our homeroom now." The burly teacher enters the class, not forgetting to close the door behind him. Students immediately scramble to their seats, not wanting to get the attention of this particular teacher. Tenten, who was by Naruto's desk earlier ago, is now seated on her own seat not too far away from her blonde childhood friend. The teacher took a moment to survey the class, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

When he found none, he coughed to his huge fist. "Ahem, okay class, today will be a special day. It may seem sudden but you all might have heard from the news earlier this morning, a murder case happened not too far from here." He revealed flatly. "I recommend all of you to not go out of the school's premises while you are having your breaks later on, and of course, you all will be dismissed earlier today." At that, silent cheers began to erupt.

A simple glare from the teacher managed to silenced all of the students. "That is all, now, we will resume homeroom. Class rep." he signaled one particular student.

A girl with a short pink hair stood amongst the rest. "Stand." Everyone follows. "Bow." And everyone follows.

"Sit." The teacher instructed, and the class obeyed in perfect unison. The burly man opened the file he's carrying, checking on the class's attendance list. "Okay, we will have a role call. Akimichi!"

"Present!"

And the list went on.

"Uzumaki!"

Silence

"Uzumaki!"

"Wha—? Oh it's morning already? Sheesh…" everyone snickered at the blonde's laid back attitude. But apparently, the teacher didn't find his attitude proper. "Here…"

Sending a glare towards the blonde student, the teacher then says, "Get your back straight Uzumaki!"

"Yeah, yeah…"

With that, class soon resumes. First period for the day is math. A subject where seventy percent of the students' population find trouble in coping with. But in actuality, math is probably one of the most simple subject there is; if you exclude the theory behind it. In math, formulas are given and the only thing that students have to do is to remember and understand them. It's that simple really… but still, there's a saying that says that not all people are born as heads… but him… he is different.

And by him, one would look at Uzumaki Naruto.

Despite his easy going and sometimes laid back, lazy attitude, the person is actually a calculative and brilliant man. Perhaps the saying 'actions speak louder than words' would be the perfect one to define him. Because when he wants to prove something… he acts it out. A perfect example would be two months ago, when second term had just started. He made a bet with the science professor—who for some reason disliked the youth—saying that he will ace all of the test without even trying, in return, the professor would allow him to use the biology lab as his nap room whenever he's tired. This was made known to the entire student body, even the teachers are interested. Of course, such conditions are in the professor's favor…

At least that's what it supposed to be like.

Instead, by the end of the tests, the results were placed, everyone was in for a shock. He scored every single test with perfect marks. The scary thing is that, the guy wasn't even paying attention in class! It's outrageous! Preposterous! But when you see it, you believe it. The professor was shocked, his age could not keep up with the surprise. Everyone remembered him fainting as soon as he saw the test's results.

Uzumaki's effort… er… or should one say 'achievement' has brought the attention of the government of Japan. People from the government wanted to interview him; something which they did, but it did not end long. Or well.

Upon the interview, which was recorded live for all Japan to see and hear; everything went wrong. The people gave him a few tests, written tests, to be finished. But Uzumaki did not answer any of them. Why? When asked, he said:

"Why should I waste my time writing on papers when I can act and improve Japan's education even further?"

At that, literally everyone in the studio went silent. If they were surprised, then they were shocked to the core when Uzumaki started answering the questions written on the papers without even looking at them. He easily and casually read out all the answers as if he's reading a text book. When he's done, he simply excused himself, and left the studio to eat in a ramen bar—where he is apparently a regular—before returning home to sleep.

That, is Uzumaki Naruto to the eyes of the people.

"Okay class, it's the end of first period. You will be having advanced theory with Takashi-sensei next, be on time when you're done with your breaks. Dismiss." The burly teacher instructed as he prep for leaving the classroom.

"Stand. Bow."

And the bell rings.

* * *

><p>"Hoooh! Man that was boring, wasn't it Whiskers?" a boy of an average height asked. The person he was referring to is none other than Uzumaki Naruto. But about the boy himself… he is Inuzuka Kiba, a second year at Konoha High. He is a boy about a feet shorter than the blonde enigma, gifted with an unruly brown hair which he kept spiky, and a downright over the top attitude. A grin stretched over his face, Kiba approached the blonde who has his face flat on the desk. "Maa… even if you're smart, that doesn't mean that you can ignore me you bastard Whiskers."<p>

Naruto did not even bother to lift his head up. An inaudible muttering could be heard, but it's muffled from the blonde. Kiba leaned further, trying to hear what his blonde classmate had just said. "What was that?"

Suddenly, the blonde lifted his head, giving Kiba a flat stare. "Shut up you damned mutt. Go lick your own butt and die from becoming road kill." The way he spoke those words out flatly and humorlessly managed to cause some of the students nearby to muffle their laughter, yet some laughs openly due to the unintentional humor.

Of course, Kiba would react to that statement. He reacted just like any other dog; he barked in anger. "What was that you little shit?!"

"I said, shut up you damned mutt. Go lick your own butt and die from becoming road kill." The blonde parroted calmly. "Sheesh… and I thought dogs are supposed to have heightened senses than humans…"

This response from Naruto only ticked Kiba off further. The brunette grabbed the blonde by the collar, his anger visibly showing. However, Naruto is unfazed. He wasn't even intimidated, much less scared. This, only aggravates Kiba even more. "Why you little…"

"Ahem!"

Everyone's attention are drawn towards the new voice, who interrupted the interaction between the two boys. Naruto, he was too busy picking his nose and wiping the gold he just dug onto Kiba's collar.

Black hair. Check. Glasses. Check. An aura of authority around her. Check. It's Miss uptight bitch… or—by her name—Satsuki Uchiha. Satsuki is… she is a second year at high school. But the same cannot be said for her appearance. Standing only at a height of 4'6, Satsuki is considered—no matter how cruel it is—short. She's plain short. As in a shrimp, a mini, tiny, damned shorty. Compared to her classmates, Satsuki is nowhere near as them when it comes to height or… feminine appeal—when compared to her female classmates.

With her finger pointed at the boys' direction, she spoke, "You two. Get out if you want to fight, I'm sure the teachers would love to see you guys fighting at the hallway." Her tone is high pitched, one that would suspect for a girl to have. But there's something about Satsuki... oh. It suits her, so well. If one were to compare her to an anime based stereotype, she'll be that girl who's not afraid to butt into other people's business and also a massive bipolar. Oh wait, there's a Japanese term for that.

Tsundere.

Yup. Uchiha Satsuki, is a tsundere and everyone knows about it. Everyone.

"Shuddup you midget!" cue tick mark on Satsuki, "You don't have anything to do with it. Now scram, kid!"

.

.

.

There is also one other thing that needs to be known when one is dealing with an Uchiha Satsuki. And that is to never, **ever**, call her a kid.

Everything went silent, students having pure dread as expression on their faces. Naruto, he's… he's still sticking gold to Kiba's collar.

Kiba is angry, he has the right to be. But it seems that he's about to learn that his anger is no match for a certain Uchiha… and that Uchiha happens to be the one standing and shaking—in rage—in front of him. Now, Kiba is popular. He is. He's got people who admires him, and that means that he's well informed. And he damn well knows about Uchiha Satsuki and her very, very, short temper.

"What was that?" an aura of pure malice and 'FUCK YOU BITCH I'MA FUCK YO' ASS' surrounds her very being. Her small feet took a step forward, and with it, a small earthqu—nah just kidding. Kiba began to feel intimidated and, like a dog, instead of showing it, he hides it by making his intimidator even angrier.

"Can you please let go of me?"

No one answered Uzumaki.

Kiba, being in the center of Satsuki's rage, could feel the harmful intention that Satsuki is leaking off. Despite knowing that he's afraid, he still tries to look and act tough. "You deaf girl? I called you a kid, a short mid—EEEEEK!" That girly scream that Kiba let out, he's not overreacting or anything, because everyone has the right to scream like a girl when they got a chair thrown at them, inches away from their faces.

"What… was... that… dog?" Satsuki took four steps as she uttered every single word. Each steps she took caused Kiba to take a step backwards… while holding Naruto.

The differences between a dumb and stubborn people? Dumb people take a long time to learn, understand and know things. While stubborn people will still be persistent despite knowing what they are doing is wrong.

And Kiba, he definitely fell on the stubborn category.

"A-As if that'll scare you, flat—"

Everything from this point onward is rated 18+ due to violence.

But who cares about it anyway?

Satsuki disappeared, she disappeared. And reappeared in front of Kiba with the sole of her shoes connected to the dog—boy's forehead. The impact caused Kiba's nerves to focus on the area of impact, since the brain receives the signal, it focuses to distribute a sensation of pain to the boy's forehead area. Oh, he dropped Naruto too. Kiba was flung back to the back of the room, out cold and with froth leaking from his mouth.

Satsuki, looking satisfied now that she has distribute the so called 'righteous feminine fury' upon the male, harrumphed and turn to return herself to her seat. "Stupid boys never learn…" the other students made way for her out of fear for the petite girl's insane strength. Satsuki was close to her seat, but one thing stopped her from advancing further.

The thing about tsunderes, is that they are cold and distant towards others on the outside. But on the inside… they're soft and mellow, like a kitten. Tsun is a term to describe the former, while dere is a term to describe the latter. Satsuki Uchiha has one person that she's gone all 'full tsundere mode' on, and that is Uzumaki Naruto.

The tall blonde finally took notice of the shorter girl in front—er… below his field of vision. He looked down, giving Satsuki his trademark blank look. "Hm. Short." He uttered out as if it's the most important thing to do at that time and hour.

Everyone's faces went pale, mothers are crying and babies are screaming. Is this the end for one Uzumaki Naruto?

The answer is… no. Nope.

Her face transformed into that of a tomato, turning red in the instant she heard the 'S' word coming out of Uzumaki's mouth. She looked down, not able to stand the shade of red she's showing on her face. Steam began to puff out from her ears, and she suddenly had her focus on the floor she's standing on.

Everyone went: "EEEEEH?!"

But Naruto was like: "…"

A certain Uchiha bishounen who was not gender bent was like: "…I'm disappointed, little sister."

It is obvious and visible. Uchiha Satsuki is in love with Uzumaki Naru—

Yeah, that is it for the school scene.

* * *

><p>"Status."<p>

**Status**:

Name: Player (Alias)

Title: -Hidden- (Due to Disguise skill)

Level: 56

Affiliation: None

HP: 9000/9000

SP: 10000/10000

STR: 22

VIT: 40

DEX: 42

INT: 44

WIS: 43

DEF: 23

ATK: 15

LUK: 15

**Items:**

**School Uniform:** Standard Konoha High male school uniform.

**Small Ballpoint pen:** Used for writing, currently half full.

**A picture of Kiba's sister:** As per requested by the third years.

**Status:** -Lazy Genius- (+50% WIS when not doing anything), -Trickster- (+15% chance to the Persuade skill, +10% chance to the Charm skill)

**Active skills:**

Disguise: _You got the wrong person._ A skill that allows the user's true identity to be hidden by the use of clothing. (4/5) [Unequipped]

Night vision: _I see you!_ Allows user to see in the dark, Thermal vision is enabled when Night vision skill is upgraded to level 3. (2/5) [Unequipped]

Silent Killing_: Sssh… it'll be quick._ User is capable of killing/knocking out targets without producing any noise. (3/5) [Unequipped]

**Passive Skills:**

Charm: _You got a moment girl?_ Higher chance to convince/persuade the feminine gender. (3/5)

Persuade: _Say…_ Higher chance to convince other people. (4/5)

Light Steps: _Lightly armored means light on the feet._ Capable of moving, walking, running without making the slightest bit of sound. (5/5)

Silent Aura: _Am I here?_ 50% Chance of sneaking successfully. (5/5)

Stealth: _Ninja time!_ Detection when sneaking will become harder. (4/5)

**Active Perk:**

Can't touch this: 40% Chance of escaping when chased by pursuers**—Expiring in 03:41:12—**

**Info:** Uzumaki Naruto, a student at Konoha High. A major sloth and genius at the same time. Little is known about him, or is it?

**Current Money: **4,000,000,000yen.

Eyeing his phone rather lazily, Naruto paused on his walking as he stood in the middle of the road on the way home. School ended approximately thirty minutes ago, and he's not even halfway to his house yet. His house, a small standard sized and totally not suspicious house, located somewhere in the school's area to provide convenience when walking to school. He can see people from his school walking home too. The singles on their own, the couples walking together and the forever aloners making the bookstore as their destination.

He is on his way home, and he won't have to be bothered by Tenten because she lives in a different complex than him. As he walks, he noticed that he's getting further, further and further away from the school. It signifies that he is nearing his house, obviously. Even while walking, he kept his eyes on the screen of his phone, looking away just to be more wary of his surroundings. His way back home to school is always quiet, the way that he likes it to be.

No nosy childhood friend bugging him, no smelly mutt looking for attention, and no little short girls who are supposed to be in junior high. Okay, maybe that last comment was a little too mean. As the skies of Tokyo gets darker, the closer he is to his house. And the closer he is to his house, the faster he could get his job done with. And it's not his programming job he's thinking about…

Opening the door, he entered his house leisurely, walking past the living room and going up the stairs to his room. He lives alone. His parents died in an accident. He has no reason to hide that fact, besides people will eventually figure it out. It's not like he is that greatly affected anymore by his parents' passing… he learned not to stick to the past for long, he knows that his parents wouldn't want him to have self pity and all that.

So, he compromise. How? By joined a game. A game that all could play.

As soon as he reached his room, he locked the door shut. He pulled out his phone, while uttering, "Disguise." Suddenly, his whole body is enveloped in hexagonal like patterns, and when the shining clears, he is standing wearing a different set of clothes. Instead of his school uniform, he is wearing a grey long coat with black undershirt. He wears a pair of matching pants, along with a pair of sleek black boots. On his head is a fedora, colored as red as blood.

The screen on his phone lights up, popping a window.

Attention to all players! An event is starting, join now!

Event is titled: Last man standing

His blue eyes rose in interest at the sudden pop up. Without hesitation, he tapped on the screen.

You have joined the event! Event will start in 03:59:59.

"Open, shop."

**Welcome to the shop! Here are today's special:**

**Assassin gear set, includes:**

Full Body Nanofiber Suit: This suit is suited for sneaking only. It provides low armor rate in exchange for extreme finesse. Water resistant, it is also made with a built in optical camo.

Knives: Made with the latest technology, these knives are sharp, deadly and quick. Variety of knives are available, from small armed tanto blades and simple yet deadly kerambit knife.

Flashbangs: These military grade Flash grenades are mainly used for escape.

Fiber Steel Wires: A roll of steel wire finer than hair yet stronger than most metals. Mainly used for traps.

Silenced P99: This French made handgun is compact and silenced. It's built with a built in silencer, allowing for more versatility.

Cost: 3,250,500

**Mercenary gear set, includes:**

High Grade Juggernaut Armor: This full body armor allows maximum protection from bullets, small rate explosives and even armor piercing. Using this greatly slows down the user, yet it provides the best and maximum defense.

Light Machine Gun L85A1: This is a full automatic rifle capable of shooting 650 rounds per minute. The compact FAMAS design that the rifle has allows for easy handling and maneuver. This one has a fore grip and a SUSAT sight attached, a laser pointer as well as a tactical flashlight is available to choose from. Extra magazines are included.

Shotgun AA-12: A fully automatic shotgun capable of delivering heavy and deadly damage. Note that no attachments come with it. Magazine are in drums, making it harder to handle. Extra drums included.

Fragmentation Grenades: These are lethal and highly explosive grenades that will explode six seconds after the clip is pulled, spreading shrapnel within the range.

AP Sonar: A built in sonar installed capable of detecting movements within and about 40 meters away.

Cost: 2,500,000yen

**Hitman gear set, includes: **

Specialized Bulletproof Suit (M/F): This is no ordinary suit. This suit is designed and built with the capability of stopping gunshots from potentially injuring the user. The design is formal and neat, making it a perfect apparel for infiltrating if sneaking is not top priority.

Sniper Rifle PGM Hecate UR II: A French made sniper rifle with devastating power. An anti material rifle, capable of piercing through any solid and weak objects. It has a bipod for convenient use. The scope used is a SCROME LTE J10 F1 10x telescope.

Handgun Makarov PM: This Russian made eight shooter is compact and concealable. Its formal and decorative appearance makes it no different from an accessory.

Hidden Blade: A retractable blade hidden inside the user's sleeves.

Kiss of Death (F)/Pen Gun(M):It may look harmless, but in actuality, it's not. This lipstick is actually a deadly gun disguised as a lipstick, capable or firing a small single 4.5mm round./It may look harmless, but in actuality, it's not. This pen is actually a deadly gun disguised as a pen capable of firing a small single .32 ACP round.

Cost: 4,400,522yen

Upon browsing, a disappointed look marred upon his face. "None of these styles suits me… I guess I should check what's new in store." The assassin gear package is useless since most of his passive skills are stealth based already. The mercenary pack is a plain no-no and while the hitman package is neat, it's too damn troublesome to use.

New Items:

**Flamethrower:** A mechanical incendiary device designed to project a long, controllable stream of fire. Tanks are sold separately.

Cost: 500,000yen

"Nah, too complicated."

**High Velocity Electric Rod:** A baton capable of conducting electricity about 6KV through the end of the metal end. Water resistant and light, available with a built in flashlight.

Cost: 40,000yen

He stopped scrolling down the phone's screen, feeling his lips stretching into a small grin. "Now we're talking…" it's cheap, light and easy to use. Just press the button and voila, you have a guy unconscious on your feet. In all seriousness, this weapon fits him best due to its function. It's not meant to kill, meaning that he could beat people up without even having seconds thought on whether or not to kill them. If he has to kill, he'll finish it with his gun.

He pressed the purchase button on the screen, and a screen pops up.

Thank you for purchasing! Your item will arrive shortly!

Exactly ten seconds later, the doorbell of his house rung, signaling that his item has arrived. He'll go get what he ordered later, for now, it's time for him to gear up. He walked over to his wardrobe, opening it to reveal a not so empty space. There are clothes stored in the left side of the wardrobe, while the right side is covered by a wooden screen. Naruto easily slides the wooden screen, revealing the hidden content. His gun, a FN Five-Seven is placed neatly on the top of the wardrobe compartment. His retractable baton is also there, placed neatly next to the gun. While on the lower part, he has his utilities strapped with his knife sheated and also his Type III bulletproof vest.

Wasting no time, he quickly geared himself up; wearing the vest, strapping on the straps, and placing his tools in the many pockets available in his coat. Of course, he almost forgot. Throwing his hat onto his bed, he reached for the top compartment of the wardrobe, retrieving an important piece of the gear. His helmet. Mask. Thing, whatever. It's more like helmet because it covers the entire head area instead of just the face. It's colored black, with glass visors and has a design similar to that of a storm trooper from Star Wars. He put on a pair of gloves to finish the looks.

Now, all that's left is to… wait.

.

.

.

"Hm… Ramen."

Guess ramen is the most important thing before an event…

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm gonna make this quick. **

**This is a Naruto is a gamer story set in modern time. Guns, cars, Michael Bay and all that jazz. **

**Naruto is lazy. Nuff said.**

**Sasuke is a girl. Nuff said. **

**Review if you want more. Nuff said. **

**Please help me I suck at games! (I'm the type of kid who rarely play games. In fact, I just found out that Farcry 4 is a game, not a movie.)**

**If you are still confused, please ask questions through PM.**

**Bye and have a nice day/night!**


	2. Arc 1: The man who stands last

You have eaten Instant Ramen, HP and SP are restored minimally!

+50% Additional CP and SP due to trait Ramen Addiction!

"Thanks for the food…"

Naruto uttered those words before releasing a satisfied sigh. Pop ups began to appear in his vision, though it's no surprise to him since this is a perk of becoming a Player. A Player is a person who is able to live their life like one would do in a videogame. He, along with a few number of people out there in Japan, is one of them. A Player is no ordinary human being. Their lives are influenced with gaming characteristics, such as having huds in their field of view, the ability to think calmly and observe things like one would do in a videogame. But that's not all. There are a lot of perks and other sorts of unthinkable feature of becoming a Player. Too many to list actually…

With mild annoyance, he began to flick through the pop ups, deleting them from his hud. Since he is a Player he is able to see pop ups windows, notifications and other alert windows that will influence or are related to whatever it is he is doing. An example showed before. A notice/pop up about his HP and SP getting restored appeared before; that is one of the examples of a pop up. But it's annoying to have them since it hinders his vision by covering it with these annoying rectangle screens. But fortunately, he could just dismiss them by either touching them or flicking them.

Standing up from his seat, the blonde haired teenager grabs and throws his empty ramen cup—along with the chopsticks—to a trashcan placed roughly about two feet from him. Since his kitchen is quiet small, the ramen cup falls perfectly into the trashcan. He did all that without looking, that is too one of the perk of becoming a Player. Becoming a Player means that he'll get these skills. These skills are something that he'll gain naturally by experiencing or learning them naturally. He could also go to the Store to purchase some skills; but that's just for noobs.

Skills are divided into two: Active Skills and Passive Skills.

Actives Skills are skills that requires activation in order for it to be used. An example would be his **[Disguise]** skill that he's equipped. Active Skills are very useful, they are also upgradeable. One could gain more XP in order to use their skill's full potential. The current limit is five, but that is up to the Creator to decided or improve.

Passive Skills are skills that does not require activation in order for it to be used, it's because it is already activated passively. An example would be his **[Silent Aura] **skill. Passive Skills are just as useful as Active Skills, and like the latter they are also upgradeable and the more a Player uses it, the closer he or she is to uncovering the skill's full potential.

A Player is also given the capability to Level Up.

This is a common knowledge. In games, characters level up; allowing for Points to be gained. These Points then can be used to raise a Stat level. The more points a Stat has; the more effect it has to a Player. For example, a Player with a high ATK point could deliver stronger damage to another person than those with lower points. While a Player with a high WIS point are far more intelligent than those with lower WIS points.

The blonde haired high school student walked over to his sink, with cup in hand, he filled said cup with water before chugging it down empty. "Puaah…" he then placed the cup in the sink, choosing to clean it for later. "What time is it…?"

Another ability that a Player has is that the world itself is a game for him or her.

"Show time." As soon as he uttered those words, an orange digital clock appeared on his vision, right on upper left corner. Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Hm… it's three already… then that means I have two more hours to prepare." The event that he will participate in will begin officially in about two hours. He has a lot of time on his shoulders… and he doesn't know what to do with it. His equipments are ready and stocked; he even got that new electrical baton that he bought equipped.

His health is in full condition and so is his stamina. He doesn't feel dizzy or anything and the world is not dead yet.

Sighing, the blonde came to a conclusion and final understatement: He's bored.

"I'm bored, bored, bored, bored, boooooored…." There's nothing to do in his house, aside from doing his work at the computer, something that he will do later. The event is more important. With no more choice, he is left with a choice of devising a plan for the event that he'll be participating in later.

Walking over to his living room, he flopped by the couch leisurely. He pulled out his phone, opening the screen which then took him to the main menu. He pressed a button that says 'Events' then he chooses the 'Last man standing' event.

You will be joining the **'Last man standing'** event! Event will start in -02:23:32-

**Info:** This event is all about eliminating your enemies! Use whatever knowledge, skills, ability, tricks or power you have to eliminate the other players! Players who are eliminated will lose all of their points and said points will be distributed to the victor, but don't worry, Players will not die even when all of their points are lost, consider it an exception for this special event!

"Well that's good to know…" Naruto muttered in serious relief.

There are two ways to kill a Player.

The first way is to make sure that their HP reaches zero, that way, the player will die instantly. The killer will receive all of the victim's XP, as well as bringing them up higher in the bounty list. The second way is to destroy the Player's phone. Should the phone be destroyed, everything about the Player will be erased, even their own existence. No one, aside from the other Players will remember the victim anymore. But calling it death is not exactly correct. The victim will still be alive, yet dead because he or she will be forgotten by everyone they ever knew of. Also, the victim's memories will be altered, making them forget their past. Players who knew the victim are not allowed to associate themselves anymore, or else they will suffer the same fate as them.

Even though the fact of not dying calms him down, he still has to deal with the participants. And he knew who'll definitely be participating…

* * *

><p>"Ebisu?" a young voice asked from beneath a dark and uncomfortable room. The voice is akin to that of a little boy no older than his early teens, probably younger.<p>

"Yes honorable grandson?" this time, a more mature and gruffer voice speaks out to answer the earlier much younger voice. The deep baritone voice echoes the dark and empty room, causing the walls to vibrate even a little bit.

"Are you done with the preparations?" the young voice asked again.

"Yes honorable grandson." The person known as 'Ebisu' replied politely, knowing his place.

A short figure steps into the single lit space in the middle of the room. What comes out from the shadows is a figure of a little boy, so short and stout. He is wearing a formal green shirt with a darker green vest sweater over it, he has a pair of brown slacks and also a pair of expensive dress shoes to finish his looks. His face is rounded, just like what a child should have. He is gifted with short brown hair, to which is kept neatly and tidily with the use of hair gel. With a cocky smirk on his face, he declares,

"Today's event… I will win it! Mwahahahahahahaha—cough! Cough! Ebisu! I need my pills!"

"…Yes, honorable grandson…" that nearly came out as a sigh. Oh wait, it is a sigh.

**Somewhere…**

"Boss, we're all set."

"Fufufu… good, good…" a sick and downright twisted voice chuckled out venomously. To the normal people's ear, hearing the laughter alone would be like tasting poison.

In a room where everything is destroyed, shattered and vandalized, two men stood amongst it all. One is standing straight and tall, an aura of absolute dread leaking from his very pore. While the other one is hunching, holding in a laughter that he could not long contain.

"Hehe… haha…BWAHAHAHAHA!" An almost ear piercing and bone screeching laughter echoed throughout the empty and vandalized room. Upon further inspection, one would be able to notice the blood soaked carpets on the floor of the empty and seemingly barren room. The owner of the previous manic laughter stepped forward, not minding getting fresh blood on the sole of his shoes. The further he walked, the more visible his figure becomes.

Upon walking, he then came to a stop. His form is illuminated under the dim light of a candle, showing his unsightly nature. Donned in a sleek black suit is a man worthy of the word 'ugly'. He is by no means gifted when it comes to appearance, oh no. His face is deformed, his left cheek bone is bent and his nose isn't supposed to be that big. His eyes are clouded by all the seven sins combined, and spider like cobwebs is his hair. Slowly, he spreads his arms wide apart, his head drawn upward.

"Oh God above… show this lost lamb the way to your Kingdom…" he whispered out almost in what seems to be ecstasy. "Take these beautiful and untainted sacrifices oh God, let Your will be done to earth as it is in heaven."

Before him is a complete slaughter. Bodies are spread, dead and bloodied. The worst thing; most of them are young women. One could only wonder what kind of sick and twisted abomination would do something like this. There are more bodies scattered throughout the sideline, bodies of men and women alike dressed in what seems to be a priest's and nun's clothing. One could only wonder what kind of abomination would do something like this.

But the answer is in there, inside the church.

"AMEN! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!" a heretic, a sinner. Those are two words to describe this man. And the one who calls him 'boss' couldn't have agreed more.

**In a certain shopping area in downtown…**

"Hmm~ hmm~ Hm?" strolling happily along the road, a young female teenager comes to a halt when she draws her phone closer to her face. "What's this? There's an even starting in about two hours!?" the teenager exclaimed in surprise, getting a few stares around her. Noticing the looks that she's being send, she smiled sheepishly while scratching the back of her head.

"Okay, let's see… Last man standing… elimination… points… Oh! This is interesting!" without any second thoughts or the slightest hint of doubt, she tapped on the phone's screen, prompting it to change. "Hehe! Now that I've signed up… I better prepare, ah, I know! I'll buy some new tools first!"

The girl rushed forward, increasing her pace and not feeling bothered by the fact that she is carrying a large amount of shopping bags with her. The girl herself is young, about her teenage years. She has a petite figure, yet she still manages to look hyper and energetic. Dressed in a thin red shirt with words that says 'Kiss the cutie' written in the front of her shirt, she also wears a black miniskirt with fur like materials as the hem. She has a pair of knee length brown high-heeled boots on with the straps let loose so that she could have a little room. She is gifted with a short bob cut black hair that adds her appeal.

"Okay~! Let's go to the **knife** store!" with that said, it is best to not say anything about why is she going to a knife store all of a sudden.

**Back with Naruto…**

"Brr…!" he suddenly shivered—or did he actually shudder— and it definitely wasn't from the air. It's still in the middle of summer, and the nights are rather warm in this time of the year. For the slightest second, he swears that he felt his hand reaching to grab his electrical baton for safety reason. Shaking his head, he could already tell that tonight's event won't be easy, nor it'll be pretty. "Haah…" he suddenly sighed.

A Player's life is never easy… it never is. It's like the rule of the jungle, kill or be killed. But killing is easy, right? Yes, it is. But it's the thought that's hard. For him, killing is as easy as swatting a fly away with a flick of a finger. But the impact and aftermath? It's never easy. Well, not unless the guy you're supposed to kill is a complete asshole or a stuck up prick; people like those he'll definitely kill without even charging anyone money.

Also, the more kills or wins that a Player has, the higher he or she is in the bounty list.

KNOCK KNOCK

"Hm?"

Naruto was not expecting the knocking on his door. Bringing up his phone, he walked over to his front door. "Disguise, off."

[Disguise] skill deactivated.

He ignored the pop up as he transform into that of his original outfit, an orange t-shirt with a pair of orange boxers on. Carefully, he peeked out from the small peephole installed on the door, allowing him to see who is on the other side of the door. After seeing who the door to door salesman is, Naruto cursed under his breath.

He really do not want to open the door right now. Why? One would ask… it's because of the person standing on the other side of it.

"Oi! If you're going to keep me waiting me out here then think again dummy! I'm coming in!" the doorknob shakes and cackles under the effort of being turned. "You locked the door?! Just let me in already!" the voice from outside is muffled due to the thickness of the door. The door is made of hardwood, the kind where it takes more than one bullet to pierce through if shot; not to mention, the walls are thick too. And they are marble coated.

Groaning loudly, Naruto could feel a headache coming through when the banging on his door starts. There are only two things he could do at a situation like this. One, he could not let the person on the other side of the door in but he'll have to suffer under the annoyance that is the banging noises which will go along for the rest of the night. Or two, he could let the person in and let all sorts of hell happen.

The first choice will definitely disturb the neighbors and he sure as hell doesn't want that but the second choice will only take him to a position he won't like.

"Naruto! Open up, I know you're on the other side of this door thinking on whether you'll let me or not, you blonde dummy!" The banging on his door grew louder; at this rate, the neighbors will definitely complain.

Cursing himself for not being able to think of a better solution other than driving his newly bought electrical baton to the person's neck as a way to silence her good, he resorts to opening the door for his…guest. He began undoing the locks, before opening the door. Upon opening, Naruto glanced downwards to meet his guest eye to eye. His blue eyes going off against the shorter girl's own brown.

"May I help you?"

"Ha ha ha, very funny mister." Tenten does not take too kindly to Naruto's sense of humor. In fact, she doesn't even know whether the guy has it or not. Crossing her arms, she glared upon the taller male. "Took you long enough to open the door, mister. So, what do you have to say for yourself?" she started to impatiently tapping her feet onto the ground, trying to look serious.

"Eh… you got the wrong house?" he was forced to duck to avoid a well aimed roundhouse kick for his head. Finally irritated, Naruto crossed his arms, imitating his childhood friend. "What do you want Tenten, you know I'm the type who does not like to be bothered. If you want to talk, you could've done it at the phone."

Instead of replying, Tenten gave him raspberry. "Nyeeh! I'm not here to talk, I'm here to give you this." She took something out from the bag that she had with her, pulling out what seems to be box shaped item. "I had this delivered to my house not long ago, said it was for you. A guy with fancy clothes hand to me saying that it was for you… I don't know why he wouldn't deliver it to you himself, but I never got the chance to ask since he quickly disappeared as soon as I turn to ask him."

Raising his eyebrows, Naruto showed interest in the subject at hand. "Fancy clothes you say…? Tell me, does this person happens to be old. Like… way older than your father's age?" he asked while accepting the box from Tenten.

Tenten looked at her friend quizzically. "I guess… I didn't pay much attention to'im but I'm sure he'd seen better days. Why?" she asked, wondering why would he ask her a question like that.

Instead of giving her a straight answer, he merely shrugged his shoulders. "Just making sure, nothing to worry about." He replied. "Now that you've served your purpose… good evening, Tenten." And he slammed the door right in front of her face.

Tenten stood frozen, confused. "The least you could do is offer me tea you idiot!" she started screaming, annoyed at her childhood friend's lack of manners and delicacy. Even after all this year with him, this is one of the attitudes that she couldn't stand whenever she's with Naruto. Sure, she may be a tease, but Naruto is a complete KY. He can't read the mood, like, totally.

But suddenly the door opens.

"Huh?" Tenten was not given the time to react when a hand suddenly reached over to grab her by the back of her head, pushing her forward, crashing her lips into another person's. Of course, said person happens to be Uzumaki Naruto.

.

.

.

"MMMMPPPPHHHH! Mmphmpmhmmmphhh!" she struggled under the hold, her cheeks—no, her whole face down to her neck going all red from the sudden act. She was given air to breathe. "Wait! What the he—Mmmppph!" but not for long. The more Tenten struggles, the weaker she gets. And the weaker she gets, she's more prone into getting unconscious. But fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, Naruto separates from the kiss, leaving Tenten shell-shocked in front of his door.

"…There, that should suffice instead of tea. Now, for real, goodbye." With that said from the blonde's mouth, the door was closed for the second time.

Tenten, who is still a standing wreck of red and pink, could only stand frozen in shock. Then slowly, her brain resumes functioning. "Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-YOU DAMN PERVERT!"

* * *

><p>"Geh…" looks like pulling something as sudden as that proves to be no good, because the banging on his door just got louder and louder. He'll have fun apologizing to the neighbors later… again. But after a moment of waiting, the banging stops. Looks like Tenten got tired and went straight home without the need to pester him anymore.<p>

Naruto slid downward with his back attached to the door, sighing in relief as he did so. "Thank God she's gone now…" he then mutters bitterly, "Wouldn't want her to see this…" he reached for the box that he got from Tenten, bringing it closer to his face for inspection. "Hm… this is quite a normal box, and it's almost weightless. Who would've sent me something aside from that old pervert…?" that is assuming that the one who sent this box to Tenten was the pervert…

The box is small, roughly the size of his phone. And as he had stated, it is almost weightless. Turning and flipping, he analyzes and inspects the box for further looking. "Oh, there's a lid to it." He then opened said lid, revealing an item that made his eyes goes wide. "T-This is…!?" he can't believe his eyes. No, he can't believe that that old pervert managed to get his hands on something such as this!

There are things in this world that are meant to be hidden in the first place, things that men have no right over finding or learning. But men are creatures that are way too smart for their own good, most of the times. The search for Atlantis, the theory that there is life in mars… those are some unthinkable and resources consuming projects that mankind had done in result of nothing aside from losses.

But also, there are things in this world that are not meant to be used by men. For example, the sun. The sun is a symbol of life, it is an important part to men's survival on earth and possibly the entire solar system. Without the sun, plants will die and the earth will grow colder and colder, causing a brand new level of ice age. Men aren't meant to use the sun. They are only able to manipulate it for their own gain. Hence why there are things powered by the sun, things that has solar in them; like a solar panel or a solar powered car.

This thing—no, this item that he has with him is exactly one of those things. But the only difference… not only can he manipulate it, he can use it for his own personal gain. The so called item is something that one does not commonly see in their everyday lives, in fact, only people with professions such as technicians or even scientists had ever seen them. The item is a computer chip, however, it is no ordinary chip.

This chip is a special chip that can be used to instantly give him level up points that he could use to unlock more skills in the **[Skill Tree]**. One could call it an instant freebie into getting an upgrade point, one chip will give him one point that he could use for an upgrade. Unlike any other trinkets out there in a Player's life, these things are quite rare. They do not sell these in shops, since you could only get them when you win a certain event or when you decided to pay about 1,000,000,000 worth of money.

The **[Skill Tree] **is a list of skills that he could purchase through the use of his UPs. The Skill Tree is divided to three simple sections. WIS is for Players with a high WIS stats. Most of the perks and skills unlocked are brain related, this can also be related to the INT stats. STR is for Players with a high STR stats. It includes in enhancing the Player's body with physical perks, this can also be related to the ATK stats. And finally, DEX is for Players with a high DEX stats. Purchasing skills from this tree will allow the player's instincts, speed, finesse and stealth related things are also here to increase.

"Status, check."

Status:

Name: Uzumaki Naruto

Title: The Player

Level: 56

Affiliation: None

HP: 9000/9000

SP: 10000/10000

STR: 22

VIT: 40

DEX: 42

INT: 44

WIS: 43

DEF: 23

ATK: 15

LUK: 15

**Items:**

**Orange T-shirt: **A comfortable orange t-shirt.

**Orange Boxers: **An orange boxer

**A picture of Kiba's sister:** As per requested by the third years.

**Status traits:** -Lazy Genius- (+50% WIS when not doing anything), -Trickster- (+15% chance to the Persuade skill, +10% chance to the Charm skill), -Ramen Addiction- (+50% Additional CP and HP when consuming ramen)

**Active skills:**

Disguise: _You got the wrong person._ A skill that allows the user's true identity to be hidden by the use of clothing. (4/5) [Unequipped]

Night vision: _I see you!_ Allows user to see in the dark, Thermal vision is enabled when Night vision skill is upgraded to level 3. (2/5) [Unequipped]

Silent Killing_: Sssh… it'll be quick._ User is capable of killing/knocking out targets without producing any noise. (3/5) [Unequipped]

**Passive Skills:**

Charm: _You got a moment girl?_ Higher chance to convince/persuade the feminine gender. (3/5)

Persuade: _Say…_ Higher chance to convince other people. (4/5)

Light Steps: _Lightly armored means light on the feet._ Capable of moving, walking, running without making the slightest bit of sound. (5/5)

Silent Aura: _Am I here?_ 50% Chance of sneaking successfully. (5/5)

Stealth: _Ninja time!_ Detection when sneaking will become harder. (4/5)

**Active Perk:**

Can't touch this: 40% Chance of escaping when chased by pursuers**—Expiring in 02:01:11—**

**Info:** Uzumaki Naruto, a student at Konoha High. A major sloth and genius at the same time. Little is known about him, or is it?

**Current Money: **3,999,960,000 yen.

You currently have 1 available upgrade point!

"Oh yeah, I have one upgrade point with me…" the blonde said in realization. Then, with this chip, he would have two upgrade points in total. "Eh… let's see, how do I do this…? Ah. Chip get!" as soon as he uttered those last two words, the chip in his hands glowed a bright white color, it floated above his palm, before dissipating into digital particles, floating towards his phone.

Congratulations! You have obtained a chip! Now you have 2 available upgrade points!

"Neat." Having two UP—as he'd like to call it—is actually useful. "Skill tree."

**Skill Tree:**

WIS:

**Hacker's Mind:** _Ping!_ You are smart, the digital world is your playground and nothing escapes you when it comes to advanced technology. Level 1: able to hack electronics with a low level security! Level 2: able to hack electronics with a high level security! Level 3: hacking will faster! Level 5: able to hack supercomputers and high grade electronics! Unlocks **[Control Freak]** perk! Requirements: 80 WIS and 70 INT. Cost: 2 UP. (Passive)

**The ABCs of Life:** _Let me teach you a few things._ There isn't a single thing about life that you do not know. You are smarter than twelve scientists combined! Level 1: You are more prone to think logically, 50% chance of either getting double WIS or INT points when you think logically or act smart! Unlocks **[Instant Brain Juice]** perk! Requirements: 90 WIS and 82 INT. Cost: 2 UP. (Passive)

"Hmm… **Hacker's Mind** doesn't sound so bad… but I lack the WIS and INT to do it, guess I'll skip it. **The ABC'S of Life**… hmm… I guess I'll add that to my list of must have's." He scrolled down further.

You have chosen a decision that what you thought is best! +1 WIS!

…This thing really is something else… anyway, on to the next tree.

STR:

**Hardened Skin:** _Fuckin' bulletproof._ Your skin is harder than metal, making it resistant to projectiles or even direct assault. This skill allows the user to be 50% more resistant to damages and will completely render small sized projectiles useless. Level 2: when activated, capable of stopping high caliber bullets! Level 3: when activated, +80% resistance to explosions! Level 4: +40% resistant to explosives! Level 5: skill will be Passive! Unlocks **[Juggernaut] **perk! Requirements: 20 STR and 30 VIT. Cost: 1 UP. (Active/Passive)

This one is tempting… it really is. The fact that the skill is definitely neat and affordable, he'd still be left with 1 UP, is what makes it tempting. But he knows better to let this temptation get the better of him.

You have shown an act of great patience and strong self control! + WIS!

"Oh God damn!"

Ignoring his outburst, he decided to resume his browsing.

**Brittle World:** _Wreck it all!_ The world around you is fragile. Everything you hit breaks like glass, no matter how strong or tough it is. Level 1: allow user to break metals! Level 2: allow users to break concrete! Level 3: +14 XP whenever the user breaks things! Level 4: tougher materials, beyond 40 GPa will now break when hit! Level 5: the sheer velocity of your punch alone will create a visible shockwave! Unlocks **[Bullet Fists]** perk! Requirements: 30 ATK and 43 STR. Cost: 1 UP. (Passive)

Okay, that settles it. This one is a must have. A definitely must have. This skill is just too OP! But there's nothing that's not OPed with a Player's life… no wonder the stats required are so high. And he's still in the range of Lv.50… he shudder to think about the higher leveled Players.

DEX:

**Agile Fighter:** _Pick it up!_ Your fighting style is not about dealing damage, it's about how fast can you take your enemy down. Level 1: counter attacks are more effective! Level 2: Punches are swifter and faster, allowing for more impact instead of power! Level 3: able to execute grapple moves which will instantly take an enemy down! Level 4: takedowns will intimidate nearby weaker foes! Level 5: takedowns will give player 50XP! Unlocks **[Pro Lethal]** perk! Requirements: 30 DEX and 39 VIT. Cost: 1 UP. (Passive)

**Pro Runner**: _Catch me if you can!_ You are a master of running, capable of scaling buildings, running through obstacles and getting into places where normal people can't. Level 1: running speed is increased by 60%! Level 2: lung capacity is increased by 45%! Level 3: leg bones are harder and tougher, preventing injury when running! Level 4: parkouring through urban areas is easier! Level 5: muscles are enhanced for faster running and agility! Unlocks **[Escape Artist]** perk! Requirements: 42 DEX and 40 VIT. Cost 1 UP. (Passive)

"Man… none of these is good, that Brittle World is neat as hell though... but I don't have enough stats to get it. Damn. Oh well, maybe I should hold onto these points until I get the next one." He concluded. "Speaking of which… just how far am I on getting my next UP…?" only one way to find out. "Progress tracker, open."

Current Progress:

Fights won: 41

Fights loss: 12

Events won: 14

Preferred method of fighting: Close quarters, taking things up close and personal.

Until next upgrade point: 52333/60000XP

Until next level up: 535/100000XP

"Damn, I still have a long way to go." He still needs about 7667 more XP before he could get another UP. Oh well, that's good to know. Closing the menu screen, he glanced at the clock display on the corner of his vision. "Now, an hour left…" he then sighed. "I really need to find a better life."

That, or he could've just time skipped. Like this.

**Time Skip…**

"Hm?" he muttered out when he noticed the buzzing in his pants.

Attention to all players! The event is about to start! Prepare everything necessary, and good luck!

…Were the words written on his phone's screen before turning black. A smile crept up one Uzumaki Naruto's face. He stretched his hands into the air; as well as popping his necks to get that vibe run down his system. "Hmph! It's show time." He said to himself. Then, something unusual happens, but not for a Player. His body suddenly dissipates into data particles, rushing and floating in the air before disappearing.

* * *

><p>When he opened his eyes, he's greeted by a ceiling. The feeling of a small headache hits him, causing him to wince and groan. "Urgh… can't they make it less painful when they start doing these things?" apparently, no one is going to hear his whining. Standing up from the bed he's on—obviously since the surface is soft—Naruto started to shake his head to get rid of the unnecessary headache.<p>

Upon standing, he finds himself aware that he's still in his orange t-shirt and underwear. Now he couldn't go out like this can he? "Disguise, on." Once again, he is covered in the green hexagonal patter that covers his entire body and face. When it's done, he finds himself clothed in his coat, pants and fedora. The mask and armor are also equipped. Once he felt a little bit better, he took a moment to survey his newfound surroundings.

"A bed… carpeted floors… a wardrobe… a desk…" he began listing everything he's seeing. "Of course, I'm in a hotel room. Or an apartment of some sort." So he concluded. He walked towards the window, where he is greeted by the beautiful and breathtaking sight of the skyscrapers of Tokyo. Looking down, it appears that he's on a higher level than what he had thought. There are nearby buildings, and it looks like getting down is top priority.

Okay, that settles it. He needs to go down the hotel and start covering grounds.

New objective: Go out of the hotel and cover more grounds!

"Yosh. I can't lose this round, otherwise _he_ will have a fun time making fun of this." Taking out his phone from his pockets, he tapped the screen for about two times. The phone's screen shows a screen with words on it.

Last man standing: Eliminate as many players as you can! The last one to remain alive will be the victor!

…is what was written but in actuality, it's even more complicated than that. He's not getting any notifications about the number of Players present, his hud won't show the mini-map and he's sure that more Players are spawned in this hotel too, possibly in the room next to his. In any case, the best thing to do now is to get his gear checked.

"Let's see… inventory."

Inventory:

**Handgun FN Five-Seven (Silenced):** A semi automatic handgun with great overall stability and handling +10 ATK when equipped and used. -3 ATK due to silencer.

**Bulletproof Vest (Type III):** A sturdy and bullet resistant vest used by military personnel. Capable of stopping rifle threats.

**Stun Baton:** A baton capable of conducting electricity about 6KV through the end of the metal end. Water resistant and light, available with a built in flashlight.

**C-4 Explosives:** A remote controlled explosives capable of dealing huge damage when exploded.

**Sticky Mine (4):** An all surface mine that explodes when approached. Extremely lethal.

"Okay, good, good." He nodded. "Still… the best move is to cover more grounds, but it's easier to say… since this is a death match I'm in, people are out for blood, the wisest choice is to just let them all kill each other and remain alive, but I doubt that will go on well." He tapped the wall next to him out of frustration. With the gear he's having, he won't need to worry about new Players.

Newer Players are people fresh in this life. They are fresh, meaning they are easier to kill, but they'll only give you little XP. So going after them isn't worth the effort and time, but who knows, some of them might just be a natural when it comes to this?

Leaning in towards the door that leads out of the room, Naruto is making sure that no one is outside in the hallway. He listened in carefully, making sure that there is no one outside. When he thought that it is safe, he slowly turned the door's handle and agilely made his way out from the room while closing the door behind him soundlessly.

He looked back and forth. The hallway separates towards the left and right, either way, both will eventually lead him towards the elevator. He walked sneakily towards his objective—the elevator—careful and vigilant on his surroundings. There are many kinds of Players. There are those who rely on strength, their brains or even stealth entirely. Players who have a high STR stats are more common to use brute force on dealing with things. Players with a high WIS or INT stats are more prone to be thinkers instead of fighters, they are the ones responsible from behind the scenes. And people with a mix of different stats are either stealthy or sneaky, making them harder to detect.

His stealth is above average, but not as high as those Players who are stealth fanatics. He backed himself up to a corner, taking cover. He peeked out, making sure that the elevator is clear before approaching. He got his gun out for extra measure. His eyes narrowed when he find that things are going to get harder from this point onwards.

"Go! Search the lifts, I want them cleared out!"

"Yes sir!"

Shit…

People in armored suits are storming in from the west hallway. They are fully armed to the teeth… killing them will be hard. From behind his cover, Naruto observes the group of people carefully. They are armed with military grade rifles and no doubt capable of using them properly. Their armors are designed to protect them from any direct or frontal assault, making it harder for them to kill. His gun won't be able to pierce through that armor, much less kill the people behind them.

There are four people, including the leader. The leader would be top priority on this one but it looks like he won't get close to him if he don't take the henchmen out first. Gripping the Five-Seven tighter, Naruto prepared himself for a plan.

It will be like this: the distance between him and the elevators are approximately 10 feet, or 3 meters. The armored Players are still busy making sure that the elevators are secure, they will possibly check the hallways next. That is where the real concern comes. They will spot him if they were to continue, so, he will send a direct assault on them when they have regrouped. How? He have mines with him, he'll use that to clear these guys out.

Your creative planning has made you more confident! +1 INT!

Pulling out one mine from his inventory; he aimed for a small spot right near the elevator, a small corner that connects one of the elevators and a hallway. His throw was a success, the mine sticks to the wall and is operational. He still have about three more mines with him; now, he'll move on to secure the other end of the hallway, making sure that he got both exits covered.

"Sir, elevators are clear!" one of the armored people reported to his leader.

"Good, we now go to the hallway—"

**BOOM**

The leader's words were cut short when a sudden explosion breaks out near him. One of his men had activated the mine that Naruto planted earlier; he must've been really unlucky for him to be the only one to be hit by the explosion. The sudden explosion made the remaining goons alarmed, they held their weapons steadily.

"We are being watched! Toji, watch the back! Ao, you with me!" the leader's men then began to do what he was instructed. One of the goons, Toji, went to go and secure the back as his leader instructed him to.

His movements are slow, due to the gear he's wearing. That armor is about 1 inch thick worth of ceramic and added by the magazines and weapons he's carrying, he won't be going back up when he's down. Toji reached a suitable place for him to watch guard, he got a clear view of the other end of the hallway that connects to the other part of the hotel. Toji knew that he'll shoot whoever it is that passed through here.

But what he don't know is that, said person is there already; sticking to the ceiling.

The fedora wearing masked teenager grinned, fortunately, it's hidden beneath the mask/helmet he's wearing. He is using his special built gloves to stick to the ceiling, but it does not last long when he falls. Of course, it's all part of the plan.

Toji did not see him crashing down on him from above and since the distance between the ceiling and the floor is quite far, the impact sends the armored goon down to the ground; hard. The loud noise emitted does not go un heard by the remaining two men; they both turned around and fired their guns due to reflex.

Naruto acted fast and swift. He lifts Toji, who managed to stay conscious despite the being taken by surprise, and shields his being behind the armored man.

"NO DON'T SHOOT—"

But it was too late, after all, bullets are faster than words. The bullets fired off, which are all high caliber rounds, hits Toji in all parts of his armored body. The man let out a held back scream; even if the armor is thick, there's still the impact of the bullets. And since he's quite near to his friends, the range is short, making the bullets more effective.

"Y-Y-You bastard! Release Toji, you wimp!"

"Toji calm down! We'll get the fucker…!"

Naruto ignored their valiant attempt at putting up a tough front. He took out his gun, and aimed through Toji's shoulder. He aimed his gun towards Toji's head, something that managed to frightened the man he's holding hostage. "Okay, you two know what to do. Drop your guns and start walking back, else you want to lose another guy."

The two men backed away at the laid back threat, yet they know that this is a serious situation they're in. Even if the game does not allows dying, they will still lose all of their XP which they have gained over the past few months. The leader, seeing that there is no other way out of this, decided to not take any chances. "Tch…! Aoi, put down your gun." He lowered his Scar-H, putting it on the floor before raising his hands in the air.

"B-But boss…!"

"Do it!" the boss's words cut off every retort that Aoi has in his mouth. "There, we've put down our guns, now let Toji go."

From behind his… 'cover'… Naruto shook his head. "No, no. I meant all of them. Including your sidearms." He pointed towards the leader's hip where he's keeping a handgun holstered.

Reluctantly, the leader slowly placed his sidearm down next to his rifle. "There. Now, let Toji go."

A moment of intensity builds up and Toji is sweating ice cubes underneath he armor he's wearing. "B-Boss… just… go. Win the event with Aoi…!" he managed to gasped out. Even if he's wearing this thick armor, the neck area is quite flexible; making it more vulnerable and a weak spot at the same time.

The leader's resolve remains strong. "No. We'll win this together, just like we promised. Shige would want that…" the leader sent a sharp glare to Naruto. The fedora wearing individual takes it that the guy who got blown earlier was this Shige guy.

Seeing how this conversation is going on, Naruto isn't going to waste time in letting these guys talk. So, he'll do what an asshole would do.

He raised the hand that is holding the gun he's aiming at Toji's head. "Fine, fine… since you guys are so damn boring, I guess I'll let you guys go. I wasted a mine already… you guys aren't worth the time." He kicked Toji's back, sending him tumbling towards his leader. The leader, seeing his chance, grabbed his sidearm swiftly while rushing in towards Toji.

"Don't even think about it." Naruto's distorted voice came out from the mask he's wearing. The leader was about to point the Desert Eagle he has on him. Naruto has got a clear another gun on his other hand, securing both the leader and the third person at the very back. The second belongs to the guy that he eliminated earlier, a USP.45. A small caliber, won't do much to these guys, but it seems that it's enough to make him back away.

Aoi, who had the chance to retrieve his main weapon, an M4A1 with an ACOG scope attachment, gulped when he found that he's been detected. He slowly returned the gun to the floor, canceling his earlier plan of shooting the hat wearing man.

Still focused at the three goons, Naruto finally lets his guard down. He throws the USP.45 over to the leader, who managed to get to the shaken Toji. The leader's attention was focused at the gun sliding over to his position. "Mah, tell your other friend that I'm sorry for getting him out from the game with a mine. But then again, this is just a game." He turned his back to the group, waving but not bothering to look back. "See ya'll later."

The armored men did not stay silent, they immediately went to retrieve their weapons.

"Ah, but I never say anything about letting you all live."

It was too late for them.

**Bebebebebeep—BOOOOM!**

He walked away from the explosion behind him, a smile hidden underneath the mask/helmet he's wearing. "Hehehe… it's fun when you're smart." He stuck an explosive at one of the men's back—the one who he took hostage before. The explosive he used wasn't the mines that he used previously. It's a C-4 which detonates at his command through his phone. The explosion is much stronger, he's sure that all three elevators are destroyed or heavily damaged. Either way, he has no use of them.

You've gained 245XP for eliminating a team!

Remaining players: 53

"Oho? So few people joining today… is it because they're dead already or maybe there wasn't really much people joining this event…?" he doubted the latter, since this event is quite an opportunity, there has got to be a lot of people participating in it. Anyway, it'll be easier for him then since there are only few Players in this event.

Now… to get down this floor.

Wait, he destroyed the elevators!

.

.

.

"Haaah… sometimes, being smart is really troublesome."

Guess he'll have to take the stairs.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Another chapter already?! OMG!? Sorry, I just can't hold myself since this story got so much follows and favorites in such a short period of time. I really appreciate the little reviews that I received, makes me improve on my writing style as well as keeping me motivated to write more. **

**Anyway, I hope that this chapter made sense and was good. I kinda tried to arrange and make things logical but it's really hard, really. There will be editing, yes, but don't worry; I'll try my best!**

**The next chapter will continue the Last man standing Arc, so stay tuned! Goodbye and have a nice day/night!**


	3. Arc 1: The man who stands last END

**A/N: Thanks to a certain reviewer's sharp analyzing skills, I'm able to say for sure that I haven't been thinking nor have I been planning on how to start or even continue this story for that matter. So first thing first, I'm going to do a major change on Naruto's stats/levels/some skills and abilities/inside game mechanism and things like that… in other words, I want all of you respectful readers to ignore all the facts and stats that I've wrote in the previous two chapters. I suppose I'm not going to ask all of you readers to ignore all the facts, just ignore the ones that might contradict to the new ones I'll put up here as I progress with the story. If it is still confusing... I will make a revision version of this story.**

**I know that I'm making it difficult here, but please try to bear with it. **

**This is my mistake, so I deeply apologize for not thinking this through. Thank you Navn Ukjent.**

**So now that's all cleared up… onwards to Mordo—I mean the story!**

* * *

><p>The sound of silence is the best sound there is for him. He never liked noises much, hence explains why he's always asleep. In order for one to sleep properly, he or she must shut off the auditory sense. That particular sense must be off if one is planning on sleeping. The eyes may close first, but it does not guarantee sleep. The sense of touch follows last, as it always does. But the ears… they need to be deaf in order for one to sleep.<p>

And speaking of sleep… he can use one right now.

"Urgh… I swear that people are getting harder and harder to kill these days…" he muttered lowly as he sneaked along the night crowded streets of Tokyo. An event will start at a random place, one that's crowded and one that's deserted; it all depends on the Creator really. Of course, there is an important and obvious part that every Player must remember:

If the objective is to kill, then no civilians or non-players are allowed to witness them killing.

If the objective is to destroy things, then no civilians or non-players are allowed to be harmed in the process.

If the objective is to eliminate players like the one he's in, then no witness is allowed. Meaning that people could see him kill, but he could not let them remember. For long.

What's the difference between the first and third rule?... one would ask. Eliminating and killing are two different thing. Killing is when you kill a player outside of a duel. Eliminating is when you kill a player inside a duel.

But of course, those were easier said than done. Killing Players aren't that easy, much less following these simple rules. As far as he knows, these were the only rules given to Players; rules that they need to abide in. Still, there are far more important rules out there and those who were considered to be not necessary at all.

However, he'd no time to think about them. Currently, as he walked in the crowd, he is tracking down an old friend of his. A friend who apparently knew quite well about others. And when he said 'others', he meant Players. In other words, this friend of his is an info broker. A damn good one. Quite a stick in a mud too… in any case, they've agreed to meet at a specified location… in a café, believe it or not.

"It should be just around here… ah, there it is."

A small coffee shop; roughly the size of your normal day to day café. The exterior is well managed, making it stand out from the clothing stores nearby. Approaching the shop, he made sure to notify his acquaintance about his arrival; he really don't want her to start shooting the hell out of him. The door let out a dangle as he enters, signaling the clerks that they have a paying customer.

"Welcome." One of the clerk, female, approaches him. "Would you like a table for one?" she asked politely.

Ah, business smiles… well, let's change that shall we? He smiled, tipping his hat while doing so. "G'night beautiful; there's no need. I'm here with a friend…" he took a moment to locate his so called 'friend'. "Ah, there she is."

"S-Sure, sir… no problem." The young woman stammers from the mere sight of his smile, causing her to retreat to her fellow female workers.

He'll have his **[Charm]** skill to thank later. Anyway, he's in for business. Walking over smoothly, his Passive skills kicks in. even as he walks casually, the people around him fails to notice his presence. He could punch someone right in the face in escape without them even knowing what his fist felt like. Sometimes it's good to be sneaky while not trying to be sneaky at the same time.

He walked, approaching a table. "Hey, sorry I'm late, I was—"

"Ah." A female voice stops him from finishing his statement. A pair of lavender eyes—obviously contacts—glanced upwards from the laptop they were viewing earlier. "You're five minutes and forty six seconds late, my intuition tells me that you're either lost on the way here or too busy resting at the nearby bookstore approximately ten kilometers from here." The female finished as if she's been writing it down on her notebook.

Mouth still opened, Naruto resumes. "…The first one was true, the second one… I wish." He then took a place in front of her, sitting with his arms rested on the table. Not a pretty smart thing to do since this is an event. But the crowd here will compensate for any sneaky individuals; he'll doubt anyone would want to kill this many people in a single night.

The woman in front of him snorted, obviously from the light humor. Her hands are still busy typing words on the notebook on the table in front of her. "Heh, if there's a furniture store nearby; you'd be hitting that instead of the bookstore. Anyway… I'm sure you're here to discuss about the terms we've talked about before." That wasn't a question.

The hat wearing blonde shrugged. "Maybe I do, or maybe I'm just here to see you?" he gave her a charming wink.

Apparently, she's too skillful for his **[Charm] **skill. "If you're only plan to see me, then we would've met somewhere else, your house or worse, the principal's desk." She said.

Naruto blinked. "Did you just make a joke?"

"You know I'm not joking. And you know that you'll actually get it on with a girl on the principal's desk." She countered factually.

Naruto shrugged, not denying nor did he even bother to accuse her. "Meh, you're right on that one. Anyway, let's get to business shall we" he suggested. "Hyuuga-chan?"

The so called 'Hyuuga-chan' immediately stopped typing. She looked at him with a glare that could both freeze and burn hell and heaven combined. Unfortunately for her, Naruto is not a devil nor is he an angel. "I swear Uzumaki… if you call me that one more time—"

Instead of letting her finish, his hand took the honor to take her on that offer. "Yeah, yeah. You'll tell everyone all about me…" he then began thinking. "Say… doesn't that makes us, you know, together?" he asked with his sense of humor.

Hyuuga-chan scoffed bitterly. "I'd rather have all of skills reset other than getting together with you. How can I, the famous yet mysterious Hyuuga Hanabi, get to together with the infamous and lazy Uzumaki Naruto?" she asked sarcastically. "I'm an info broker, Naruto, not a personal message that you could see and take every time. You need me, you have to pay for it."

"Does that mean that you're expensive?"

Having enough, Hanabi gestured to her notebook. "Take it or leave it."

That shut him up. From Naruto's perspective, it's wise to not agitate or offend this little girl sitting in front of him in the first place. He probably should be careful on how he address her too… though the term 'little girl' do suit her well. Hanabi is by no means tall; she's still in middle school for God's sake. The oversized furry coat she's wearing just emphasized how much of a petite bambini she is. Again, he probably should be careful on what he addressed her…

"Okay, no need to be so impatient Hanabi." Everyone—who knew Naruto well enough—knew that when Naruto calls you by your name he means serious talk. "I want info on these people: Sarutobi Konohamaru, Kisaragi Rei, and Kawayama Shuzen." He noticed Hanabi going wide eyed at that last particular name. "What's wrong?" he asked, noticing her look.

Realizing that she's caught with a strange expression, the young girl shook her head to regain her normal stoic and detached composure. "Nothing. I'm just surprised that you want information on Kawayama… actually, I'm _not_ surprised that you want information on the so called 'Killer of Players' I expect you to want to know about him later than this."

"Oh really?" Naruto fake surprised. "Care to explain why?"

Unfortunately, he was ignored. "About the Sarutobi: He's, as the name states, a Sarutobi. Japan's current biggest investor who owns ten percent of the political in Japan entirely. He's young, fourteen… and a total brat apparently." Naruto noted how irritated Hanabi sounded when she mentioned of the Sarutobi's attitude. "In the Player world… he's quite famous for using his family to get things done, even if his family is totally clueless about the fact that he's a Player. He has a bodyguard with him, Ebisu. The two of them are known to be trying to rule the entire Tokyo just by the two of them, words has it that the brat actually detests his family. Surprising."

From what Hanabi mentioned, the image of a snotty, spoiled, and bratty young boy appeared in Naruto's head. Naruto, like Hanabi, could only careless yet be agitated at the same time when a person like the Sarutobi appeared. He has no problems with the rich, but some of them had too much money stuck on their ears and head. Too much for his liking. The boy also has a bodyguard, probably the only one keeping him alive through all of this.

Deciding that he wants more, he asked for more. "Tell me about this bodyguard of his, Ebisu."

"Ebisu… since this is related to the person, I'll let this go for free." She glared while saying. "Ebisu, Sarutobi's bodyguard and a loyal one that that. Also acts as his caretaker too. The guy knows what to do, he's apparently skillful and adept when it comes to dealing with 'rats that gets too close to the honorable grandson's feet'… I don't know why, but I'm angry right now."

So the guy is the Sarutobi's personal and faithful dog… "Any other thing that I could know? Without pay?" her glare was his answer. "…I'll take that as a no. So, about the others?"

"Kisaragi is… unstable. Mentally."

"Oho?"

Hanabi gave him a flat look. But there is a little bit of concern there. A little bit. "She was admitted to a mental institute somewhere in Chiba, why there? I don't know" she paused. "Don't give me that look, I don't know everything, I only know the important ones; like the ones that you'll know if you'll stop giving me that look. Anyway… she's said to be dangerous, and few who survived encounters with her returned with hands or legs missing. Or both of them."

So basically, a bitch with attitude. A scary attitude. He'll have to know more about her if he wants to get a clear view of what she's exactly like. "Any further details? Like… what's her forte?"

"You have such way with words…"

"Hey, I take offense to that."

"She's apparently good with sharp things, and I mean _sharp_ things." Hanabi put a thick emphasize on the word 'sharp'. "Yet unlike any other psycho out there, she'll only 'play' with those who she consider interesting. Of course, like Sarutobi, she's joining this event and is probably on the move out there."

Okay, he hoped that he's not interesting enough for her. Now that he knew more of this… unique lady, he'll move on. "Then, Kawayama?"

"What more do you want to know about him? He's as infamous as it is already…" Hanabi questioned in a rather unbelievable manner. "The guy's a murderer! A killer? A freaking psycho—worse than Kisaragi. He's not known as the Killer of Player for nothing."

"Then give me what I don't know. You're an information broker for God's sake Hanabi, you have to know more." He said a little bit too strongly for his taste. He then sighed, taking off his hat and placing it on the table's surface. "Okay, fine. I want to know his data, what you got on him. Everything."

Still shocked and surprised at the man's earlier demand, Hanabi sputtered as she began to compose herself. "E-Er right. Right. Ahem. He's forty, and is pretty easy to notice if you're not too busy sleeping on a curb or somewhere. The guy's your typical evil boss, you'll need to through his men before you can face him. Not much is known about his skills, since he's never seen fighting or in a tough situation for that matter." The purple eyed girl finished.

"So basically, he's like the Penguin in Batman? Only much more crazy, unstable and is a psycho?"

"If that's your way of describing him… then, yes. But remember, I am also clueless as to his personal skills; it's hard to get information on that man." Hanabi confessed halfheartedly. She's not going to deny what she can't do, it would only be unprofessional of her to do so. "Then again, that never stops you. Okay, there I've given you the information you need. Is there anything else?" she asked.

Thinking, Naruto began to think of something that might come useful later on. He knew about the three people that he wanted to know about, and the information given to him by Hanabi is not accurate, yet it's enough to give him what he needs to know about them. He's not going to pay more solely for the sake of information on these people; he needed information on something else.

He knew what to say.

"I have, actually…" he started. "What's the word out there? Any interesting rumor that might just turn out to be true?"

"There is one, really, and it's not quite nice to know." Hanabi revealed with a grim expression. "Rumor has it that _they_ are on the move. I don't know how, Naruto, but trust me—this is a real as it could get." She too noticed the expression on Naruto's face. It's a mixture of anger and a little bit of fear. She can't blame him, there isn't a single reason to not fear _them_. Creators be damned, she would rather give the man everything he needs to know other than risking everything on getting information from _them_…

"…that is…not good. Really, not good." Naruto concluded in a not so bright manner. "I really need to start grinding again by tomorrow, which means more work for me. Haah…" he sighed. "Why can't things be peaceful for once."

Seeing him, Hanabi can't help but took pity. If someone like Naruto is seriously considering on doing something as bothersome as grinding, then it means serious business. She then began to type on her notebook, coming in to a certain page on her screen. "If it helps you out, there is a person who could help you train." She saw the glimmer of hope in his eyes. "But not for free."… and that hope died. "However, it'll be worth it. You'll have to give him something of equal value in order to receive training from him" She said, reading from her notebook's screen.

"I see… then what about you? Will you charge me with something of equal value?"

"Since I'm being generous and kind for tonight, I'll let this one off." Hanabi said detachedly.

"What, really?!" he shouted half asked. He leaned forward grabbing the girl and enveloping her in a hug. "Thank you so much Hyuuga-chan! You're so kind!" she must be, because it's rare for the famous info broker Hanabi to just give out information for free. He'll have thank his [Luck] skill for that… probably.

Congratulations! You have somehow managed to make Hyuuga Hanabi share information to you for free without doing anything! LUK+1

There it is.

The petite girl was struggling under the much larger boy's grip. "H-Hey! Let me go, we're not invisible you blonde dolt, people could see us!" she hissed venomously so that people the people around would not hear her shout.

Indeed as Hanabi have said. The people in the café are staring at the odd pair with curiosity, and Hanabi is not one who likes that. Naruto, realizing what the girl had said, immediately let go of her while grinning sheepishly. "Hehehe, my bad, sorry. I'm just… really touched you know? The info broker Hyuuga Hanabi sharing free information to me? Only in a million years I bet…"

The lavender eyed girl sent him an accusing glare. "Oi, what do you mean by that?" rolling her eyes, she let the matter drop for now. "Anyway, here it is: the guy's name is Killer B, he's a Level.60 Player living somewhere in Shibuya. He's apparently an oddball… and has a habit for talking while rapping at the same time. That proves the former. Anyway, the guy's crazy strong. It said that he stopped a train from malfunctioning once by only using his strength. He also as a brother." She finished.

When she glanced to look at Naruto once again, she was greeted by the sight of the man looking weirdly at her. And by weird, she meant that she has no way on describing the expression he's making on his face. "What? Is that not enough?" she blurted out.

"No, no…" Naruto assured her while waving his hands. "It's enough, it's enough…" he then smiled wryly. "Is his name really Killer B? As in his real name or is that a title?" he asked, wanting to know.

Hanabi took a moment to look at her screen. "…Surprisingly, it is." She made a bitter expression. "I pity you that I've recommended this guy to you…"

"Then get me someone better!" nice tsukkomi…

"I don't have someone better." She rebutted irately. "Look, Killer B's the only guy out there who's willing to teach you shit. If I was him and I get an ungrateful prick like you, I'll kill myself and dump my body on a ditch."

.

.

.

"W-Wow… I… I never that you could speak like that, Hyuuga-chan." Naruto stuttered out honestly.

Hanabi's glare was his reply.

"Okay, okay." He looked at the clock display on the corner of his vision. "Look, I need to go now. I guess that's all I need." He stood from his seat, pushing it back inside. "Thank you for your time Hyuuga-chan and I hope that we—"

**BOOOOOOM**

A loud explosion erupted from the streets outside, the one that shook Naruto and Hanabi the most.

People inside are panicking, some are screaming. They're not able to see form inside the shop due to the walls, but the windows provide a good view of what's happening outside. Naruto immediately went and secure one to observe the situation outside. He narrowed his eyes only for them to widen again. He returned to Hanabi, dragging her by the arm.

"H-Hey! What's the big deal?!" the petite girl demanded.

"No time. We need to get out of this area, fast." Naruto said finally.

"What's happening?"

Naruto turned to face her grimly. "KV8 and LUTHERS are fighting outside."

Hanabi's expression turned from anger to dread.

The two unordinary pair walked out from the café through the backdoor, they done so without everyone noticing. The back door leads to an alleyway that connects to the street. Naruto, as he dragged Hanabi by the hand, reached for his gun that he kept holstered underneath his coat; simply for safety measures.

Noticing what the man retrieved from his person, Hanabi spoke. "Hey! Don't tell me that you're just going to go in there and shoot everyone silly?! That's suicide!" she shouted. His reply to her remark was silence, something that she found quite annoying. She tried to break free from the man's grip on her hand, but that's just it. She can't break free.

"…and I never knew that you're that worried about me, Hyuuga-chan." He retorted half jokingly and half seriously. "I'm getting you out from this area, I'll contact you again when I want to know more." They've exited the alley, now they're on the street. Surveying the street, it looked like that the explosion is the result of an explosion from a car or something. Soon later, gunshots were heard and people are screaming in terror and fright. Cursing under his breath, Naruto made a mental note to pick a few of both KV8 and LUTHERS out…

"Still… I'm very well aware that I alone am no match for two factions combined, even if they both hated each other's guts." Naruto commented, still looking around for a safe route to get Hanabi out from the area.

"Of course." The lavender eyed girl rolled her eyes at the obvious statement that the man made. "These are two most notorious crime groups we're talking about here. And what's more, they're also Players. Aside from having the attention of the media, they have the attention of the local Players too; some are planning to join their little groupies and some are out there to make use of them as grinding materials. Of course, little succeeded in the latter."

"Well I'm glad that I'm not going to join them or harvest them as easy XP…" he wandered over to the distance, seeing a cab that was just about to leave. "Ah! Taxi! Taxi!" the cab that was about to leave stopped, the driver opened the window. "Hey, shit just went freaky. And I need to send my sister," he gestured to Hanabi—who looked at him as if she's just been insulted by the worst insult there is—"but I left something. I'll need you to take her home for me." He slipped his hand into his pockets to bring out a wad full of cash. "Here, keep the change but make sure that she's back home in one piece."

The driver isn't going to say no when he's got wad of cash waved in front of like biscuit treats, even when a literal gang war is happening in the background. Hanabi entered the cab with her things, she took a moment to look at Naruto. "Hey."

Said man turned to look at his caller.

"…Thanks."

He smiled. "I believe it's me who should say that. Anyway, I'll contact you when I need you. Just be prepared to see me at the top of the bounty list." He gave her a mock salute, before disappearing into the alleyway.

* * *

><p>"Shit… things just have to get hotter don't it?"<p>

From the building he's on, he got a clear view of the situation. KV8 and LUTHERS are basically on an all out war, literally causing mayhem on the street. It's hard to say whether they're doing this for the event or just to get some bad blood out from their system. If he had to guess, it's both. The thing about gang groups who happen to be Players at the same time is that they tend to make use of every chance there is to get at the other team. This event is no different… it's like an empty field for them to use. But in some cases—for him—it's actually a good thing.

With them causing ruckus and shit, the number of Players joining will drop. As in real fast. Right now, from 53 remaining Players, there's only about 30 or more left. And that is just by these two gangs fighting each other out… looks like the term out for blood is real. Anyway, he's decided to move from here. While the two gangs are settling their dispute, and by dispute he meant a messy gunfight on the street, he'll be taking out all the other Players who are nearby.

Of course, he got to be careful of those three… he really, really do not want to face them just yet. Even though it's tempting.

"Okay so crossing the street will be hard since I'll be caught up in the fight, and it is impossible for me to operate through the roofs since there is little roof to roof access here. Well, you know what they say. When you can't find a way, then make one." He them brought his handgun to aim. He aimed his gun at a news helicopter hovering not too far away from the building he's on. "Let's just hope that my aim doesn't suck." And he shoots.

The bullet was shot, hitting the pilot of the chopper right in the shoulder. Of course, it was intentional. The helicopter went to nuts, swinging and going unstable while at flight. Naruto took this as his chance to get off the building. He prepared his feet, and he began to run towards the unstable aircraft. He jumped off the roof, grabbing the foot of the chopper. Struggling as he tried to keep himself stable while having to deal with the dizziness, he managed to find a place where he could land. The chopper is tilting to the right, towards a shorter building that had ground to roof access. That is where he'll land.

With the momentum provided to him from the helicopter's spinning, he managed to jump towards the other building, landing roughly on the concrete roof. "GAH!" that will definitely hurt in the morning… and he swore that his health just dropped by a few points. Slowly standing up, he saw the helicopter slowly regaining control. Looks like things won't have to get much messier. It'll be really bad if a news helicopter were to crash somewhere right in this area. He can't go to his favorite bookstore anymore if that ever happens.

Dusting his coat, he made stretching movements to rid himself of the after effects from the fall. "Guh… I really need to get that skill on…" he's referring to the [Hardened Skin] passive. The impact of the fall, even though he's feeling a bit sore, isn't as damaging as he thought it could be; in fact, it could be worse. "Okay… need to find a way down. Oh, a ladder." How convenient.

As he was climbing down the building via the access ladder, he noticed that the situation is getting heated on the streets. The police are now involved, the sirens are the proof of that. But in actuality, the police are the least concern here. KV8 and LUTHERS are his main concern. The fact that he didn't exactly have a good reputation with the two parties is half of it; he was also responsible for the decrease in their numbers a while back. What can he say? Apparently, gangsters and thugs are two good sources of XPs.

Now where was he… oh, he was about to go and make his way out of the area and possibly hunt down his target candidates. What was that? He never intended to hunt those three people before? Well, he intent to do it now. "Map open." Then suddenly, a huge transparent orange screen appeared in front of him. The screen shows the map of the area, the entire area of Shibuya. On the screen are red arrows which are definitely the other Players' location.

"Heeh? All of them are nearby?" he could see that almost all of the red arrows in the map are appearing and moving around the area he's in. "KV8 and LUTHERS's fiasco are attracting more and more people… well, that's good, I think?" it's like moths being lured into an open flame; and he's not talking about the current gang fight going on.

He's willing to bet that there are a lot of newbie Players joining the event, this will make them easy targets for the more experienced Players. He's not going to go newbie hunting; that'll be too easy, like those people that he dealt with back at the hotel. Speaking of which… they kind of dropped him only a few XPs… maybe they're actually newbie Players wearing stolen advanced gear? That could be. Unlike games, this Player life does not applied the rule of restrictions. There are no 'you need to be level 13 in order to use this' or 'restricted to women or men only'… no. That's what made this thing even more exciting.

"What's this…?" a certain particular detail on the map piqued his interest. Someone is advancing to his direction, completely ignoring the other Players around him… or her. Naruto frowned. This could only mean that whoever this approaching party is, he or she is completely aware of his presence is probably—usually—after his head.

He needed not to confirm it twice. The grey wearing blonde was forced to jump back a good few feet deeper into the alley, due to a presence deciding that it's time to make its appearance. A figure, slender and petite, walked over to him slowly. "Hehehe~" Naruto blinked. Did she just… giggle? Aside from her short and almost harmless figure, Naruto is more focused on the thing that she has on her hand… and let him tell you, that is no ordinary knife. At least not the one that one would normally find in a hardware store.

It's a parang. A huge one. Like that crazy bitch has in that one anime, what was her name again? Koto-something. But something tells him that he should be more worried about the knife—cleaver that the woman in front of him has.

"Hehehe… you." The woman suddenly spoke. She raised a finger with her other hand, pointing it at him. "You are interesting," she raised her head, showing him the disturbing smile she had on her face. The reason it is so was due to the blood stains on her cheeks, not only that, her clothes alone are literally splattered with blood. She looked like a real life vampire with the majority of her body being covered in red mess… hepatitis would be the least of her worries. "won't you play with me?"

Okay, so that's why… this is Kisaragi Rei. Wait, what!? Kisaragi Rei!? Holy son of Mary and Joseph! The fucking timing! Murphy must hate him!

Naruto raised his gun instinctively. There's no denying the nervousness he's feeling. Normally, he would be calm at a situation like this, but after what he heard from Hanabi… yeah, he's not so calm anymore. But of course, a man is not a man if he didn't at least try to cover his front. "Play? My, my… if the timing and place should've been more accurate, I'll be showing you the time of your life." He remarked snidely. "I don't 'play' with dirty girls, tell me, are you clean?"

"Hm?" she tilted her head in a horrifyingly cute manner. As she did that, a few droplet of blood was dropped to the ground.

Naruto's eyes were following the droplets as they drop. "…Yup, thought so. Definitely clean." Naruto muttered lowly. He raised his gun, aiming it at her. "Well, if you wanted to play anyway I'll be more than happy to comply. Let's _play_ shall we?" he cocked the gun back, putting one bullet in the chamber.

"Hehehehe… **let's**." that knife she's holding has never been so…

**bloody**.

* * *

><p>"Come out come out hatty-kun~ come out and play~!"<p>

Naruto took it all back; this is one girl he never wanted to play with. So here he is, hiding inside a trash bin while thinking of ways on how he could deal with a maniac armed with a freaking cleaver that could chop his head in half and spilling grey matters out. He'd never seen someone using a knife as deadly and horrifyingly as one Kisaragi Rei did… and now that he knew, he'd have to buy a new hat. Why? Because the bitch sliced it in half!

"Dammit!" Naruto cursed under his breath. He's holding his topless hat; the more he looked at the thing, the more frustrated he got. That bitch will pay… "I should've brought a spare." Anyway, no times for joke, otherwise Miss. Slashalot over there will give him a sharp end… literally. "Shit… I can't think of a way aside from escaping. But not eliminating her from this event will come bite me in the arse later on…"

"Okay, first, a little check up. Status."

Status:

Name: Uzumaki Naruto

Title: The Player

Level: 36

Affiliation: None

HP: 9000/9000

SP: 10000/10000

STR: 22

VIT: 40

DEX: 42

INT: 44

WIS: 43

DEF: 23

ATK: 15

LUK: 15

**Items:**

**Handgun FN Five-Seven (Silenced):** A semi automatic handgun with great overall stability and handling +10 ATK when equipped and used. -3 ATK due to silencer.

**Bulletproof Vest (Type III):** A sturdy and bullet resistant vest used by military personnel. Capable of stopping rifle threats.

**Stun Baton:** A baton capable of conducting electricity about 6KV through the end of the metal end. Water resistant and light, available with a built in flashlight.

**C-4 Explosives (3):** A remote controlled explosives capable of dealing huge damage when exploded.

**Anti-Personnel Mine (3):** An all surface mine that explodes when approached. Extremely lethal.

**Status traits:** -Lazy Genius- (+50% WIS when not doing anything), -Trickster- (+15% chance to the Persuade skill, +10% chance to the Charm skill), -Ramen Addiction- (+50% Additional CP and HP when consuming ramen)

**Active skills:**

Disguise: _You got the wrong person._ A skill that allows the user's true identity to be hidden by the use of clothing. (4/5) [Equipped]

Night vision: _I see you!_ Allows user to see in the dark, Thermal vision is enabled when Night vision skill is upgraded to level 3. (2/5) [Unequipped]

Silent Killing_: Sssh… it'll be quick._ User is capable of killing/knocking out targets without producing any noise. (3/5) [Unequipped]

**Passive Skills:**

Charm: _You got a moment girl?_ Higher chance to convince/persuade the feminine gender. (3/5)

Persuade: _Say…_ Higher chance to convince other people. (4/5)

Light Steps: _Lightly armored means light on the feet._ Capable of moving, walking, running without making the slightest bit of sound. (5/5)

Silent Aura: _Am I here?_ 50% Chance of sneaking successfully. (5/5)

Stealth: _Ninja time!_ Detection when sneaking will become harder. (4/5)

**Active Perk:**

None.

**Info:** Uzumaki Naruto, a student at Konoha High. A major sloth and genius at the same time. Little is known about him, or is it?

**Current Money: **3,999,960,000 yen.

"Okay, that did not reassure me one bit."

"Where are you hatty-kun~? Don't tell me you've run away? If you do… **I'll find you and chop your head from head and then placing it on top of the Tokyo tower!**"

Look who's impatient… and scary. Judging from her voice, he could at least confirm that she's within his range of assault; meaning that he could either grab her or hit her with something. It also meant that he's totally vulnerable. This is a girl who's crazy fast, sharp and deadly he's dealing with. The reason he's still alive up to the point of hiding is due to his skill of presence concealment. He's no match for her in close quarters, even with the gun he had, she's able to dodge the bullets like crazy fast! She's gotta be using hacks!

Still, he should make escape his top priority. He'll think of another plan of beating her after he made his strategic retreat, and then winning the event. But in order to do that… he will need to get out from this trash bin. _'Okay, here goes nothing…'_ acting as fast as he could, Naruto jumped and barged out from the trash bin. His eyes went wide. The Kisaragi is in front of him! He had little time to react. The first he did was to crash onto the unstable woman, knocking her off balance whilst sending both of them to the ground. That sudden action caused Rei to drop her parang, making her unarmed. This is his chance…

"Hyaaah!" he sent a powerful and well aimed kick at the downed woman. But was greatly surprised to see that she was quick and swift enough to dodge it. Clicking his tongue at the sight of his failure, Naruto outstretched his hand, summoning his gun at an instant. He fired off three shots, but all of them were dodged by the quick Kisaragi. He saw her charging at him; it was so fast that he didn't have time to react. Barely, at least.

Naruto raised his hands in a guarding motion. "Kuh…!" he managed to guard a kick aimed to his head, but only to make him drop his gun in the process. What's worse, it's that it didn't stop there; Kisaragi was quick to deliver another attack; which is a kick to the mid-section. Naruto did not have time to block that hit, but it's a good thing that his armor managed to absorb most of the damage. Regardless, this chick hits hard… looks like not all of the intel Hanabi had on her was accurate.

"Hehehe… there you are hatty-kun~ what's wrong? Don't tell me that's all you've got?" there she goes again, just proving how much of a psycho she is. A flash of digital particles surrounded her hand; she's summoned another huge knife. A kukri to be exact. She stepped forward in a way that Naruto would say disturbing; the way she's smiling so innocently yet the aura of absolute murder and dread that surrounded her is just too large of a contradiction.

"No, not all apparently." His hand too was surrounded by the digital data particles. He summoned a baton, with electricity sparking at the end of it. Underneath the thick mask/helmet he's wearing, he grinned. "And don't call me hatty-kun, you sliced my hat in half."

"Then what should I call you?"

"Your end."

Like a pair of magnets that attracted each other, they both sprung in incredible speed towards each other. Naruto, even if he's a fraction of a second slower than Rei, managed to deflect her attacks skillfully. Rei sent him a slash that was meant to slice his throat in half, but he managed to parry it with the electrical baton he's holding. Thankfully, the baton is really strong; he won't have to worry about it breaking or getting damaged.

"Hah! You're interesting Hatty-kun!" Rei threw in a series of frenzied slash from all direction. Her slices and stabs are getting too quick for Naruto to dodge. The result is her managing to strike Naruto with a clean stab right at the shoulder, but something stops her blade midway.

"Heh, I'm not a pincushion my…dear!" he kicked her off from him. Rei was sent skidding a good feet away from the blonde in grey. Naruto dashed, not wanting to let a chance of ending her go. With his baton raised and cackling with electricity, he aimed for a well timed strike to the girl's neck. The baton he's using has a really high voltage; she won't be getting up when she felt the first shock.

But imagine his surprise to see her no longer there.

"What?! Impossi—AAAH!" he did not see another blade descending towards him right at his blind spot. Naruto was not able to dodge the blade which is now embedded to his arm. The sensation of cold steel and sharp pain began to invade his senses; he knew that fighting this girl one on one is bad. With little time to think, he swept his hand in hopes of hitting the girl. But Rei was quick to predict his movements and she drew back immediately.

"How's that Hatty-kun?~ did you like that? Please… bleed more for me will you~?"

Okay, it's official. He is never dating any cutiepies. With gasped breathing, Naruto struggled his hand as he clutched the knife that was stuck on his other arm. What's worse is that that arm is his right arm. Fighting her will be twice harder in this situation… he dropped his baton too; his chance of victory is close to none. He gripped the grip of knife as hard as he could, and with a strained scream, he pulled the knife harshly from his arm. "Guuuurh!" he gripped the knife in a reverse grip, using it as his own.

"Now you've done it… there's no more mister nice man." He dashed forward.

"Hehe~ then I'll play harder too!~"

They're like the North and South Pole; every strikes they delivered will always come in contact with the other. Naruto clashed blades with her, even if he's at a clear disadvantage. He barely dodged a strike to his hips, if that connected, he'll be bleeding from the liver. But this gave him a chance to deliver a counter attack by descending his blade to Rei's head, however, it failed to do its purpose. Rei summoned another knife on her other hand to deflect the descending blade. Sparks were emanated from their clash, Naruto grit his teeth behind his mask; this is getting harder than before.

"Oh come on! You have two knives, that's cheating!" the blonde shouted in complaint as he pointed towards Rei.

"Nu-uh!~ it's more fun this way!~ Ei!" she launched an attack in a stabbing motion, Naruto managed to swiftly stepped his way sideways to dodge the attack. An opening allows him to land a kick to the girl's ribs, sending his a good distance away from him. "Urgh…! Not.. bad, hatty-kun… your sense of combat is sharp. No wonder you're so much fun to play with.~" she then brought both knives she's holding closer to her person. "But let's see if you can sense **this!~**"

Suddenly, she disappeared.

It's like a scene from a cliché manga, she's disappeared from her spot! Naruto was only allowed a short moment to marvel at her sudden disappearance. Next, he's forced to dodge a sudden strike coming from above. He saw Rei, all with her murderous and psychotic grin on her face, descending unto him with both of her knives gleaming by the moonlight, just like a hawk upon a snake.

"Hmph!" He grinned. But as always, the snake is trickier! "No, you sense this!" he pulled up his injured hand, ignoring the pain and cry he released. "HAAAAAAAH!" the beeping sound that had been going on for about a few second ago increased in speed before stopping.

Then what happened next, explosion.

**BOOM**

* * *

><p>"Urgh…"<p>

And now, here he is, back into morning. Naruto, who is—as usual—resting his head lazily on his desk, groaned in both pain and relief. His sudden action caused his childhood friend to take notice of his not so usual attitude. Tenten sighed in what seemed to be disappointment at her childhood friend's lazy attitude. The bun wearing girl took notice of the bandage covered arm that the blonde is having; she did not noticed it before.

"Yo Narurun, what's wrong with your arm?" she pointed to the white covered part that is Naruto's hand. "Did you got into an accident?" she then covered her mouth, gasping. "Don't tell me… you injured your arm while you were 'working' tonight?" the amount of emphasize she put on the word 'working' is so great that Naruto knew what she really meant by it.

Due to him being extremely tired and not in the mood to deal with Tenten's antics early in the morning, Naruto did not bother to retort to her. Tenten was not one who likes to be ignored, especially not with people like Naruto. She walked up to his table, nudging him on the head. "Hey, don't ignore me mister! It's bad that you ignored me yesterday afternoon already." She crossed her arms, huffing in annoyance. "So tell me already you lazy blonde."

Naruto had been this close on kissing Tenten right here and there in front of their classmates, the only thing that's stopping him is the fact that his right hand is injured. He slowly raised his head, staring straight at his childhood friend in the eye. His twin blue orbs were reflected upon Tenten's brown ones, a second or two passed and he still hasn't answered her.

Finally, he spoke. "Tenten?"

"Yeah?"

"…You're annoying you panda wannabe." With that said, he returned to his sleep.

Tenten did not move. Then she showed signs of twitching at the end of her eyebrows. After that, she exploded. "WHAT WAS THAT YOU BLONDE PERVERT!?"

Chaos ensued… but only for a short while. The door of the classroom slid open, revealing the teacher himself. He's still in all of his burly glory; his shirt barely popping off from all that ripping muscles he got underneath it. The ever so strict teacher took his place at the desk, and as he started to look to survey the class, all the students are already on their seats and ready for class. All except for one.

"Uzumaki!"

Said blonde straightened up slowly when he heard his name being called. He blinked with sleepy eyes.

"Need I remind you to not fall asleep whenever homeroom is in session!? Get your back straight Uzumaki!"

"Yeah, yeah…" was the ever so lazy reply from the blonde.

The teacher took another moment to survey the class again. When he decided that it was enough, he stopped. He brought up his fist to cough. "Ahem. It may seem sudden but we are going to have a new student joining us." That sudden bit of information surprised everyone. Yup, even Naruto himself. Though the blonde is far more subtle than the others in showing his surprise…

"Quiet down." And the class obeyed. The burly teacher looked outside the opened door, nodding as if signaling whoever the person is out there to come in. "You may enter."

What comes next is the sudden appearance of a young girl entering the class. She is short and cute. Those two descriptions alone are enough to get the boys' approval. She is dressed in a standard female Konoha High student uniform, she has a short black hair that suits her petite and stout look. She has a lovely smile on her face, one that really suits her appeal and appearance.

Her appearance caused different reactions. The girls are disappointed that the transfer student was not a boy. The boys are excited that the transfer student was a girl. And one individual named Uzumaki Naruto screamed like a girl. Wait, what?

All eyes were on him, including the teacher. He had his mouth wide open, and hands—yes, even his injured one—held close to his chest like a fair maiden screaming in fright. It took the blonde teenager three seconds to notice that he had just gotten the entire class's attention on him. "Ahem. Please." He gestured for things to continue after coughing.

"O-Okay… introduce yourself."

"Hi, hi~ my name is Kisaragi Rei and I'm here to join you guys from this day onwards!~ hope that all of us will get along well!~"

Again, she caused mixed reactions from the students.

"Tch… I bet she's acting…" the girls.

"Whoooa! A cutie!" the boys.

An—"KYAAAAAAH!" Naruto.

"GODDAMMIT UZUMAKI! STAND IN THE HALLWAY RIGHT NOW!"

That day… Naruto is determined to not go to school ever again. But sadly, that's impossible even for him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah... it's really, really done. I can't believe that that scene alone with Hanabi took me about four thousand words… which means that this chapter is lacking in the action department. Now, you might be thinking:**

**Why did you make the action scene so short?!**

**Or**

**What's with that damnable cliché ending?!**

**Guys, guys… I was—actually, you're right. What was I thinking? Originally… I planned on getting Naruto to do a total curbstomp on people. But I decided not to because it'll be too boring. I promise to make more action scenes later in the near future. I know that this chapter isn't the best, but hey, I'll promise more. **

**Well, with that said… have a good day/night!**


	4. Arc 2: Hunting the douche

Every day, for him, is the same. Wake up… wear uniform… eat breakfast… lock the door… walk to school… deal with nosy classmates… and listen to lectures. Today is no different. But the only thing that different is the fact that he'll be spending the rest of his school life with a person who he fought or dueled with—whatever—last night. Kisaragi Rei—from last night's event—didn't strike him as a person who would just attend school with the person who also tried to kill you the other night. Nope. She struck him as a person who would attend school with the person who also tried to kill her the other night with the intention of killing him. Or in simpler terms: he's fucked.

"_Johnny is walking to his grandmother's house to deliver the cakes that his mother gave him to deliver._ Haruno-san, I want you to translate that statement into Japanese please."

English. The first subject of the day; English. Naruto took a deep breath from his seat, both trying to deal with the usual atmosphere of boredom from possessing him and the constant stare that a certain mentally unstable girl is giving him. The blonde haired Player rests his head on top of his desk, pretending to be asleep. It's not like they'll mind him if he's asleep, it's just that it's hard for him to both ignore and not ignore the stare that he'd been receiving from the newest transferee.

He swears… that girl probably discovered who he is already. She had probably connected the dots between him and last night's event; he meant, who has a blonde hair in this class other than him? Well, Yamanaka does but she's in the next class! She's probably plotting on ways to kill him as lectures progress too… not to mention, Kisaragi was probably suspicious as to why he's covering his right arm. The same arm that she stabbed with a knife last night.

It's weird for him too… normally, if a Player were to be injured with injuries that would leave marks or scars, they would be fine as long as they got a good night sleep. But imagine his surprise to find his hand still bleeding even after all the bandages he put last night. The factor to this phenomenon is still unknown, though he do have theories… it's either he didn't sleep well last night or that knife she used to stab him with was special. And he didn't mean it as if it was a custom made knife from a worldwide famed company. There must be a substance in that knife that allowed it to make its target bleed continuously… or the most obvious, she has a special skill that allows her target to bleed continuously when they are cut.

"Uzumaki-san!" Naruto, hearing his name being called, was forced to direct his attention at his English teacher. A woman with long black hair that reached down to her hips, and over all a beautiful adult-like face, was his English teacher. Her stern red eyes glared strictly at him, as if disapproving him for his posture. "Please don't fall asleep during lessons." She said strictly and simply.

Naruto gave her a lazy salute without voicing any remarks. He's really not in the mood to joke around… simply because of that psycho being in the same class at him. The blonde whiskered sloth slowly glanced at the girl who seats a few rows in front of him, taking a view of her short black hair. The blonde retracted his focus when the girl turned her head and stared back at him, as if she knew that he was going to look at her.

'That's no instincts… well, it is, but it's not a normal one…' He wondered, is her detection skills just as good as he thought it would be? Because last night it took her nearly a while to find him. Granted, he did deposit most points he got for his stealth based skill, but for her to be able to feel him when he was about to stare at her… that's beyond creepy. What's more, if she didn't have any detection skills for that. He shuddered to even think about it…

"Okay, let us resume where we left off…"

The lessons continued, as if it's the norm—oh wait, it is.

* * *

><p>So time flew by slowly, as if it's a fat duck in migration.<p>

"Puaah~ that was a nice lesson, isn't it, Sakura-san?" The new transferee for the day, Kisaragi Rei, asked the pink haired Class Representative. Her hair is as puffy as before she came here, her eyes are sparkling with an excited gleam and there's nothing but 'JOY' written all over her. Or in a simpler term, she's instantly the class's idol.

"Ahahaha…" The pink haired Class Representative could only laugh awkwardly at the class's newest edition's question. Normally, people won't just say something like that. "I-Is it, Kisaragi-san?"

"Um!" The short haired ravenette nodded with such force that it could literally define the meaning of the word 'Headbanger'. "Class was interesting! The sensei was nice, the boys are nice, the girls are nice… everyone is nice!" she declared with a smile so bright that it nearly made every girl in the room, sans for Sakura, cringe in pain.

Guys are already head over heels for her the moment she entered the classroom's door, and girls are already jealous of her bubbly, airheaded charm she's giving off.

"OOH! As expected from Rei-chan!"

"Be my girlfriend Rei-chan!"

"No! She'll be mine!"

…Okay, they're just romantically awkward like that.

However, the girl's reactions are far more subtle… considering that they're whispering hushed insults or threats that they could think of towards the newest student.

"Grr… look at that bitch, acting all innocent like that."

"Yeah, totally…"

"I don't get it why… but she pisses me off…"

See?

Anyway, as for our main star the blonde sloth himself, he's having a difficult time ignoring the enigmatic transferee's enthusiastic presence which he could feel even if he's sitting on the very far corner of the room. With sharp blue eyes, Naruto glared irritably at the girl with the bob cut; and if looks could pierce, Kisaragi Rei would be a bull's eye in Kyuudo field. But as usual, the blonde could not bring himself to do anything other than to sigh heavily. It's a good thing that she's directing all the attention towards her, at least… even Tenten's busy on the new girl. And Kiba…

"Haah… haah… haah… I'll be your dog Rei-chan!"

…let's just say that he's a lost cause, no?

Speaking of causes… Naruto didn't figure out how or why did Kisaragi transferred here… aside from the yamcha-ing conclusion he had think of, Kisaragi must've come here for an objective. And he prayed that isn't him. Because if it is… it's going to be trouble dealing with her in the middle of a place with people around. The back of the school is a good spot and all to deal with this kind of thing, but last night's setting didn't matter either.

Whilst the blonde is in deep thought, a pair of eyes belonging to none other than the school's newest and probably the only popular student took notice of the expression he's making. Her eyes are drawn in by the breathtaking sight of his troubled expression. The slight trace of drool on the corner of his lips is like golden shavings on top of food. His hair, kept wild and untamed has made her wonder on who would bless a person with such marvelous feature. And his eyes… those pure, azure, blue, ocean like eyes… she nearly moaned right here and there.

And before she knew it… she got her first crush.

* * *

><p>"A-Achoo! Damn… troublesome sneeze…" A certain blonde sneezed.<p>

* * *

><p>His sneeze is like the trumpet of heavens which God Himself blew to warn the world of His coming! How…how…how…<p>

"…Marvelous…" it was not a whisper, nay. It was a hot, prickly, breath released akin to that of a gasp. She felt her thighs getting stiffer; as if the mere sound of his voice had become the source of her sudden increase in libido. Her pupils are replaced by pink hearts, filled to the brim with love and lust. "Marvelous…" she breathed again, this time louder than the first sudden one. Her whole body shivered; showing whatever signs of restrain she had left.

"So…So…So…"

Sakura, noticing the utterance of words that escaped Rei's mouth, wondered aloud. "What's the matter Kisaragi-san? Is there something wrong?"

And just like that, she returned to her usual bubbly self. Well, it is her usual attitude. "Hm? Oh, nothing at all Sakura-san~. I was just think that the room is all so-so~. Teehee~." Tapping a knuckle on the crown of her head, Kisaragi Rei got all the boys swooning for her… well, almost all of them.

Naruto, for the second time that day, shivered again. Looking around, he's eager to find who's responsible for giving him the cold steel sensation. But as soon as his eyes landed on the transferee, he need not think twice. That settles it. He needed to get out from this room, like, right now. Suddenly standing, his plan of getting out of the room and hit the school's roof was foiled when a gradient of black and green appeared right in his field of vision.

…or to be more exact: _under_ his field of vision.

"Just where are you thinking you're going, Uzumaki-kun?" the high pitched voice of one Uchiha Satsuki screeched out questioningly. Her thick rimmed glasses glinted as she glared intently at the way taller male. "You and I have cleaning duty today, and even if you are injured the least you could do is to help me." Uchiha Satsuki is just like how Naruto remembered her to be. Short, long black hair, short temper, short, glasses, short, a nosy and troublesome attitude and did he mentioned short? With eyes twitching, Satsuki slammed her palm at the blonde's desk. "Oi, you're thinking of something rude, didn't you?"

Naruto, merely rolled his eyes. "I guess."

Satsuki, with her face suddenly grabbing a tinge of pink hue, stammered. "W-W-What's with that blatant and flat reply, huh?! You're mocking me aren't you, you…you…you…" the short and short tempered teenager began to struggle on finding a word to describe her classmate.

"Lazy? Slow? Boring?" Even Naruto himself helped her on finding a word just for the sake of story progression.

"Yeah! That! You lazy, slow, boring… uh…"

…and she's back to square one. Naruto resisted to divine urge of slapping himself at the face right here and there. So, he settled for a sigh. While the short Uchiha is still busy searching the dictionary for words, Naruto leaned forward about her height and placed his left palm on the glasses wearing girl, fast. Of course, the sudden presence of a palm on her head snapped Satsuki from her stupor; slowly, her face turned red when she realized whose palm is it that's currently resting on her head.

"Bwah hahawahaw…!" Now gibberish is flowing out from her mouth; she can't talk properly. Not only that, she also can't move her arms for some reason. It's like the moment she realized that it was Naruto's hand on top of her head, her body is in a state of paralysis. She can't move nor can she talk properly.

Naruto leaned in further towards the shorter girl. And it would be safe to say that they both had gathered the entire class's attention on them. Naruto allowed himself to hum, narrowing his eyes as if observing Satsuki like a piece of art. "Hm… you're surprisingly… comfortable."

**BANG**

"Your hair is soft, it makes a perfect cushion for my hand." The blonde commented without the girl's consent. He even rubbed her head, smiling as he did so. "And your height makes it a perfect place for me to rest my hand."

**BANG BANG**

STRIKE THREE, YOU'RE OUT!

Truth to be said, Satsuki went out like pro wrestle at the receiving end of a boxer's fist. The bells rung—not the school bell—and Satsuki had an expression that expresses…dare she says…heaven. The only thought that crossed Uchiha Satsuki's head was:

_Maybe…being short isn't so bad…?_

.

.

.

No, it still is.

"Muh~?" Sakura turned towards Rei when she heard the utterance of confusion from the woman. It seemed that the display of Uchiha-san and Uzumaki-san's…interaction dare she says has brought a certain interest to the class's newest addition. "Ne, Sakura-san… are those two dating?" the way she asked, if one were to ignore her tone of voice that she's using, is somewhat serious.

"Hm? Do you mean Uzumaki-san and Uchiha-san?" Sakura questioned. She saw the newest student nod. Making a wry face, Sakura scratched her cheeks. "Well… I don't think they are. Though it is no secret that Uchiha-san is…interested… in Uzumaki-san." That's as best as she could describe the not so related relationship between the Uchiha and Uzumaki. "May I ask why are you interested in them, Kisaragi-san?"

The bubble teen shook her head with a bright smile on her face. "Nothing~." Kisaragi replied sing-songly. But that expression changed when she placed a pointer at the corner of her lips, taking a thinking pose. "But they seem close to me… are you sure that they aren't dating? At least not yet?"

Raising her hands, the pink haired Class Representative laughed and smiled wryly; unsure on how she should answer Rei's question. Still… her own opinions aside, those two—Uzumaki and Uchiha—does seemed close. Even the first years are saying that those two looked as if they're dating, the teachers too even. At her current place, Sakura could not say anything that will answer Kisaragi's question. So, she sticks with an obvious one.

"I don't know… why don't you ask Uzumaki-san himself, Kisaragi-san?" of course, she meant that as a joke.

Suddenly, as if God has let ten more suns to appear in space, Kisaragi's face lit up. "What a great idea! Thank you for the suggestion, Sakura-san~!"… and she disappeared in a blur of black and green, doing as what was suggested by the pink haired Class Representative.

"No! Wait, Kisaragi-san!" her words fell on deaf ears; it's no use since Kisaragi has approached the bear—or fox in this case—herself. She saw the bubble short haired girl running happily towards the blonde male who is now resting his head on his desk as usual. She watched with sweat dropping from the back of her head as Naruto literally jumped two feet into the air when Rei greeted him. Now Uzumaki is covering himself with his textbook, as if in a defensive action. Sakura's sure that she's not the only one sweat dropping at the ridiculous scene.

But thinking deeply… she's never seen Uzumaki so… what's the word she's looking for? Scared, freaked out, paranoid, edgy? Yup, one of those would work. And from the way she—herself—has been observing the blonde the moment the both of them has become classmates, he's never one who would react that way when meeting a new face. Just who are you… Kisaragi Rei?

Now, let's go to the two people who are enjoying themselves.

"Please don't bother me, I'm not good with cute things."

…Okay, not the both of them.

Kisaragi, hearing the word 'cute' coming out from the blonde's mouth, flushed when she heard the sudden… praise? What happened when she heard that… praise… from the young man? She squealed like a normal high school teenage girl would do when in love. "Kyaa~! Naruto-kun called me cute~! So embarrassing~!"

And Naruto was like:

GO HOME :(

But the damage had been done, now they have the entire students' eyes on them. Naruto shook his head, and this is the psycho he fought with last night… "Whoa! What the—!" suddenly, a pair of fists grabbed him by the collar lifting him up from his seat. Naruto was about to shout and knock the fucker who dared—chances are the guy who did this to him won't be coming to school until next week. But, he saw the face of the culprit. "HOLY SHIT KIBA WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO YOUR FAC—oh, it's always like that."

"You…You… YOU DAMNED UZUMAKI HOW DARE YOU CALL REI-CHAN CUTE YOU LAZY BASTARD!?" the dog scented boy shouted in fury. "And fuck you, you blonde haired shit!"

"DIE UZUMAKI!"

"JUST SLEEP YOU SLOTH!"

…And so goes the constant shouts aimed at the blonde sloth. Yup, he'll ignore those. But first, he'll get Kiba off from him. And all he had to do is to say the five magic words.

"Satsuki, Kiba called you flat."

"WHAT DID HE SAY?!" like sleeping beauty gone wrong, Satsuki sprung up from her unconscious state and glared murderously at Kiba.

"WHAT DID I SAY?!" Kiba instantly let go of the blonde due to the fear suddenly invading him. What happens next is predictable. In just two words, the scene could be described as: kick ass… Kiba's on the receiving end of course.

So while Kiba got his mutt butt handed to him by the enraged loli, Naruto fixed his loosened collar. He muttered curses under his breath, due to the fact that Kiba managed to actually hurt his neck when he grabbed him too tightly around the neck. "Damn mutt… he got what he deserved alright…" the blonde's eyes trailed off to the mutt who's busy getting with the enraged Satsuki. Naruto cringed. He almost felt sorry… almost.

"Ne, Naruto-kun?" Naruto flinched when he heard the voice who called out to him. Slowly, he made an effort to turn towards his caller. He's greeted with a smiling Rei who's holding her lunchbox up to her head level. "Do you want to eat lunch together?" she asked politely, tilting her head while doing so.

Every male gendered straight student began crying all of a sudden, and the girls were happy for obvious reasons, though some are confused as to why it must be Naruto. Sakura, who was watching the scene before her eyes the entire time, could only laugh awkwardly at how things have gone. She should've been absent just for the day…

Naruto actually blinked at the sudden question. He blinked twice, thrice. "No."

.

.

.

The boys were pale white.

And so were the girls.

Kiba was… he's not moving that's for sure.

Satsuki was happy, granted.

Sakura really wished she hadn't come to school today…

**DING DONG**

"_Uzumaki Naruto-san, please report to the principal's office. Uzumaki Naruto-san, please report to the principal's office. Thank you."_… went the intercom. Everyone's eye travelled to the ceiling where the speaker was at, and everyone started to laugh… awkwardly.

"Ahaha… he has to go to the principal's office, so that's why he can't have lunch with Rei-chan!"

"Yeah… whew, isn't that great?"

"Yeah. I thought that he's going to reject her right there, I mean, we're going to beat him up if he did it, right?"

"So true."

…and people say that he's mean. Naruto felt alienated that day… and even Tenten's not doing anything about it! Damn girl's too busy stuffing meat buns into her mouth! Now… now, at least, he really got a reason to not spend another second with this… psycho within his vicinity. Without saying anything else, Naruto walked out of the classroom with a puffed face.

* * *

><p>"Ah, Naruto-kun, the principal's expecting yo—EEK! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR ARM?!"<p>

Listen very carefully: Naruto likes women. He is a straight and healthy male teenager. But still, it is freaking annoying when you got a pair of those womanly… eh… assets pressed again his nose preventing any means of respiration! Now Shizune-nee isn't that big, oh no. In fact, not to be rude, some of the students might have her beaten in that department. Having a woman who is passed her marriageable age pressing up her sma—humble assets against his neck isn't something he really enjoys.

"Shizu-nee… please don't hug me like this in public." Naruto said, his voice muffled from being smothered with Shizune. He could finally breathe again once the woman had finally let go of her display of affection for her little brother figure.

"Ahaha…" Shizune laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun; but still… what happened to your arm?" A sudden look of worry struck Shizune's face. "Don't tell me that you got into a fight?"

"Shizu-nee… do you honestly think that I would bother myself to get into something as tiring as a fight?" honestly, he will but she didn't need to know about his second life. "Anyway, Nee-chan, just tell granny that I'm here… I have history for the next period, and history class is always the best class to sleep through."

The middle aged secretary sweat dropped at her little brother figure. "Okay, just step right in, the principal will be seeing you now. Oh, Naruto-kun," just as the boy was about to enter, Shizune stopped him. "make sure that you don't do anything rash again okay?"

The fleeting Uzumaki made a mock salute to dismiss Shizune's worries. Casually like a customer entering a café, Naruto walked into the principal's office through the double doors that leads inside. Stepping into the room, he's greeted by a familiar desk and over all décor. The desk alone is quite huge and wide enough to stack whatever paper work that needed to be done. The simple yet formal décor that the room is given made it a place where students don't normally go, well not him at least. And of course, one could not forget about the person in charge himself.

Or in this case, herself.

A pair of hazel eyes glared irritably at the whiskered teen. Her gaze, to those who've only met her a few times, might seem strict. But all in all, she's just pissed that she got nothing better to do aside from pushing pens behind her desk. "You're late brat, though honestly, I expect you to be later than that." The woman sitting behind the desk said out breathily. She let out a small yawn to release a bit of morning fatigue. And they say being a principal is easy…

Naruto crossed his arms, his eyes challenging the look that the woman was giving him. "And I expect you to be drunk by now, granny." He did not fail to notice the pulse ticking on top of the woman's forehead. Grinning slightly, he walked forward, propping himself leisurely on a vacant chair available for him to sit. "So what do you want from me, granny? It's not every day that you would call me through broadcast… well, it's actually Shizu-nee who did it but whatever."

Sighing, Senju Tsunade swore for the hundredth time in her long life that this brat in front of her would be the death of her. Tsunade is a woman betraying her age. Despite being in at least her sixties, she looks as if she's in her early thirties. No doctors nor scientist dare question the woman as to how is it she's able to maintain her looks, mostly because they tend to be answered by the end of her fist. All in all, she's a beautiful old woman enough to pass as your mom.

"Brat…" Tsunade started. "I'm giving you a contract."

With the simple utterance of the word 'contract', Naruto's facial expression changed. Gone was the bored and uninterested face that he was sporting on earlier. It was replaced by a flat and serious look that no one thought Uzumaki Naruto would be able to pull off. Tsunade, seeing that the whiskered teen is ready to listen, pulled out a folder from her drawers; placing it on top of her desk.

"I assume that you know of the name Sarutobi?" The woman with the blonde pigtails questioned. By the gaze she's receiving from the teenager, she assumed that she knew. But she needed his voice to answer.

"I do." a simple two worded answer.

Tsunade nodded. "And do you have ties with anyone within their roots?"

…Naruto's eyes blinked a few times. They then narrowed skeptically at the woman, but acting rashly in this moment won't do him any good. He is, after all, curious as to what Tsunade wants him to do with the Sarutobi. Nevertheless, he shook his head in negative; giving her his answer.

"Good, it will make things easier. I want you to read what's written inside that file—after school—and not complain at whatever contract that's written there." Tsunade instructed as if she's reading from a textbook.

"Can I at least ask what's the whole thing is about? I mean, the Sarutobi? Really…?" It's better to get answers indirectly like this. Tsunade's a sharp woman, he knew, but this should do the trick.

The pigtailed principal sighed as she shook her head. "Trust me… you really don't want to know."

But Naruto's look is as serious as Tsunade is old. "Oh really? Try me."

"Fine, you brat. You want to get a headache? Here." Tsunade rolled her eyes. "As we all know it, there was a mega huge event last night that you" her eyes fell on the bandaged arm that Naruto's carrying. "definitely joined. And along with you, the Sarutobi grandson also joined. You might be asking what is the grandson's relation with this. Since the brat is the only Sarutobi who is actually a Player, last night, the brat returned home with only a hair's breadth of life left in him."

Naruto's eyes went wide.

"The same goes for his servant, what's his name… anyway, I received this contract—which is suited for you—about finding the one responsible for the grandson's and the servant's current condition." Tsunade wrapped up.

"And said condition is…?" Apparently, Naruto's not getting anywhere with the things that Tsunade said.

"Naruto. The boy is in coma, along with his guardian." Tsunade said seriously. "The Sarutobis are eager on finding who's responsible for this, but if they were to find out that the culprit was a Player…"

She lets Naruto finished the rest. "Then they will know about us." Okay, things have gone from bad to worse. The Sarutobis are really protective of their group. And now, the grandson of the chairman is in a comatose state. Naruto's willing to bet his phone that they're running around frantically right now… but still, he has more questions to ask. "Okay, I get it. But first, why are they so sure that someone attacked the kid?" while it is no harm on letting the Sarutobis aware of Players… it will still be a bother considering how much influence that they have in Japan alone.

"The boy's guardian, whose name I've forgotten, managed to confess that they were attacked, right before he collapsed into coma of course. I don't know why, but as a Player, he must know that involving people who aren't supposed to get involved with the Game is like attracting piranhas to a group of sharks. But in any case, they are sure that the one who did it was a person. Who? We don't know for sure…" Tsunade explained.

"So, what you're trying to tell me is that they're still unsure on whether they have a target or not?" Naruto asked.

"No, they are _sure_ that they have a target, but we are _not_ sure whether the target is a Player or not. Naruto, if the culprit is not a Player, you let the Sarutobis decide on the poor bastard's life. But if the culprit is a Player—which is more likely—then you deal with him. Period." The words left Tsunade's mouth like a cold arctic wind in the south; chilling and devoid of any warmth.

Naruto has a lot to think… and plan on that matter. Just what did the Sarutobi brat do last night to make him and his lapdog get into comatose? Thinking, he shouldn't focus on their condition. What's matter is that they're still alive; since the contract will be invalid if they were to die whilst he's doing the contract.

Of course, the culprit is more likely to be a Player. The Sarutobis are not the type of people who would make enemies all around, even if a rival group decided to send a guy after the grandson's life, it would not be last night. With the gang terror and all the Players prancing, jumping around the city… an assassin sent for the boy's life would be caught up in all of that and killed before he could even get anywhere within the Sarutobi. Also, from what he had heard from Hanabi last night, the Sarutobi's lapdog isn't weak. Giving it all the more reason to proof that the culprit is indeed a Player.

The blonde haired teenager pinched the bridge of his nose. "Now I regret knowing this…"

"Told you brat."

Shaking his head, Naruto picked up the file on the table as he did so. "I'll check things out first before I take the contract, but I'll be taking this just to see if I could compare it with the intel I'll have on me."

Tsunade merely gave him a wave of hand. "Yeah, yeah… anyway, you're excused from classes but make sure that you plan something you hear me brat!"

"Yeah, yeah…" the door to her office was opened before it was closed.

Tsunade sighed for the umpteenth time that day. She could feel the burden on her shoulders getting lighter yet heavier at the same time. She knew it was a bad decision to be involved with all of this… but this is a life that she chose. She can't, by all means, return or run away from it. "Just don't disappoint me brat." All she could do now is to trust in the brat hoping that he'll solve things. Even if there's a high chance of him being careless, things will still be solved either way.

* * *

><p>"Boss… we are done."<p>

"Good, good…" a sickly, bone chilling and face twisting voice muttered in what seemed to be glee. The owner of said voice stepped—stomped—his foot onto a body-less head, crushing it into a paste of flesh, bones and grey matter all over. He wiped the sole of his stained, tainted and muck covered expensive shoe onto the floor's carpet without a single care in the world.

Then with a clap of his hand, his trusty assistant slash servant slash bodyguard walked up to him with a particular object in his hands. The formal wearing bodyguard gave the small sizeable object in his hands to his master, handing it properly and dignifiedly. Let it be known that Kawayama Shuzen is not a patient man. He's quick to act and quick to…compose… himself.

"This…" a gasp of sick pleasure escaped the man's mouth as his hands shivered; seemingly to have entered a state of ecstasy by holding the mere object in his hands. "With this… no one will be able to stop me… kukukuku…hahaha MWAHAHAHA!" the cackling mad man spread apart his hands to the side, allowing himself to have the first laugh of the night. As his dark, murky and hell forsaken eyes opened; the scenery in front of him unfolds.

A big room with its lightings literally ripped off from their sockets with blood, bodies, organs and limbs scattered out all over it… it's a perfect and a literal description of what could be described if one were to look upon the scenery himself. The room shows sign of it being a super high tech laboratory of some sort; the equipments—computers and such—which are now mostly scrap, are still identifiable. Not to mention, most of corpse scattered all around the floor are wearing white—no longer due to the bloodstains—lab coats. Also, if that wasn't enough proof, there are several wrecked up lockers filled with documents, chemical components and other laboratory wise equipments.

The sight of corpses and the blood splattered all over alone would make one person vomit. However, Kawayama is not just a person. He's much more. With the thing he has in his hands… he will be more than what he is; much, much more…

"Kukuku… Let Thy will be done in earth, as it was done in heaven…" the man chanted the popular verse from the Christian bible as if he's drunk on ecstasy. His body shivers, his blood sings. His hair crept up the way no normal humans supposed to. The box shaped item that he had been holding on the entire time in his hand glowed blue, glowing brighter each passing second. His lips are stretched wide, showing a row of pearly whites. That smile is not a good sign; it never is. Those eyes of his transformed from that of a man, to that of a monster. Steadily, he could feel his body getting stronger, stronger than before.

"No… Let _my_ will be done in earth, as it will be done in heaven! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The cold, lifeless, and silent atmosphere of the lab was disturbed by the cynical, and maddening laugh of the mad man himself. Everything within the vicinity trembles, excluding his servant. Said servant could only stare wordlessly at his mad master. Yet at the same time, he could feel his own palms tightening into fists. Every single hair in his body stood up. He's feeling fear at the sight of this man—no, this…

Monster.

* * *

><p>"Man… I've been thinking for about three hours and I still can't figure out anything… urgh." Groaning in frustration, our blonde haired vigilante banged his fist on the wall of his room, causing it to shake for about a second. "No… I can't think too much on the culprit alone; I need to think on how the culprit managed to singlehandedly dealt with the Sarutobi brat and his lapdog… wait, wait… maybe that's it! He didn't do it alone!"<p>

He'd been in his room for the previous three hours doing nothing aside from thinking, researching and gathering information about his contract. Seated on his wheeled office chair, Naruto swings the chair so that he could slide over near his desk. When reached, he picked up the same file that he got from Tsunade. Naruto's frustration increased when he read the words typed on the piece of paper. "This bit of intel isn't good enough…"

Parts like: _'Culprit presumed to be a member of an active gang'_ or '_No injuries or any physical abuse marks were found on both victims'_ just arise more questions. If the culprit is presumed to be a member of a gang, then why would they only send one Player to deal with the Sarutobi? Gangbangers never work alone; they'll always have some extra dupes to back them up. And the fact that the culprit managed to put two people into comatose without inflicting any injuries? It's either the culprit is a psychic or that he's able to make someone get into coma without touching them. Now if only that last part is possible, then he would at least have a lead.

Sighing deeply, Naruto gripped the side of his head irately. His head is starting to hurt for obvious reasons… "Man… I shouldn't have consider on accepting this contract… now I can't back out from it." he whined monotonously to himself. "Show objective."

Current Objective: Find who managed to put the Sarutobi grandson and his bodyguard into coma!

That's it. That's the main mission. No tips, no hints, no clue or whatsoever. It's amazing how this game-like life was built. It managed to both defy and retain common sense at the same time. He can't just have mission clues popping up his vision like they do in most games; he'd have to do countless tiring research to be able to get even the slightest bit of hint. He did some thinking, and look where it got him now…

He sent a message to Hanabi, but she has yet to reply. Which is weird since this isn't a season where most people would need information…

Wait… something is turning up inside the blonde's head, something displeasuring.

Hanabi is rarely busy unless—of course—it involves her line of job, which is information selling or gathering. It's either she's busy on selling or gathering… but, there isn't something need gathering in this time. Usually, it's when political crisis arises where Hanabi would be busy as a bee. But the only political—or something as near as that—was made known to the public was the case with Saru…tobi…

.

.

.

"…So… it seems that I'm not the only who was given the contract, eh?" it's obvious now that it clicked inside of him. The Sarutobis, being overly protective of their member—heir moreover—must have distributed contracts to other people who are willing to take the job. Tsunade is a contractor; she gives him contracts; but only those that will interest him. Is this the reason why Tsunade gave him this particular contract? And is the fact that twenty percent—probably—of the top Players out there in Japan are out looking for the culprit made her thought that it will be interesting for him?

Naruto… he could only smirk. "That boobs for brain hag… she's pushing me, eh?" standing up slowly, he's like a cobra who's ready to strike and spit venoms to whatever other predators that lies ahead. "If it's a hunt that they want… then it's a hunt that they'll get." With quick movements, he flicked out his phone from his pockets. He dialed a number.

"Hey, it's me. I need you for something big."

"…_Troublesome…"_

"Heh, couldn't have said better myself buddy, couldn't have said it better myself…"

First, he must get the brain.

* * *

><p>After getting the brain, he must get the hands.<p>

In a dark alley in the middle of a sunny day in Tokyo, there are two figures standing facing each other. A distance about five feet long separates them. Shadows were once the only thing that people fear… but he found that statement to be false. People are not afraid of shadows, they are afraid of the things that lurks beneath it. Here he was, standing in the midst of a dark and shadow ridden alley. The way the sun is positioned managed to cast more shadows over this alley, hence making it darker. The blonde is dressed in his attire of grey and black; the only thing lacking was the fedora that he owned. Owned, as in, past tense.

"Any reason why you're suddenly interested in meeting up with me?" the question came from the person standing opposite to him, and unlike him, the person is pretty much less conspicuous as to what he's wearing. With only a white blank t-shirt on with a matching white kimono over it and a sharp glare that Naruto can't see, it's easy to say that he's the type of person who's not particularly interested in being disturbed for something as trivial as a meet up. With the hakama he's wearing, it's as if he's wearing a black man skirt. Combined with the straight long black hair he has, it's hard to not mistake him as a girl from afar.

But fortunately, Naruto is not dumb enough to make that mistake twice. "Oh I've got it alright… two, actually." At that, the hakama wearing man raised his eyebrows just for a bit. "One, your cousin is involved. Two, you really don't have much choice when anyone from your family is invo—WHOA!" Naruto was nearly hit by a palm extended to meet his face. He was forced to lean back, bending his back to avoid the sudden attack. Right now, he's sweating a little bit. Neji isn't the type of person who would let anyone stand when they're hit at least once by him.

"Say that again? Someone from my family is involved?" Neji's words are akin to that of a tiger snarling at its prey. He slowly retracted his extended palm slowly, but not keeping his eyes off from the taller man. "Who? Tell me quickly before I send you flying five feet away from this alley."

Raising his hands, Naruto showed a sign of surrender. He's not looking forward on fighting Neji one on one in a cramped alleyway like this. "Just promise that you won't disturb me until I finish talking." He received silence as his reply. That's more than enough. "Okay, so it's like this…"

Boys are explaining…

"…So you suspect that Hanabi-sama might have something to do with this?" The long haired skirt wearing man asked still with his glare focused on the blonde teen. With his arms crossed, Neji does not look like he's joking. "Never mind the killer planning a hit against the Sarutobis, speak about Hanabi-sama's involvement in this matter first."

"Yes, but I know that she won't really be involved in anything as vital as the contract itself, at least not directly. My thoughts were that maybe she had been selling information to the wrong people, I mean, this is the Sarutobis we're talking about. Hanabi is a professional info broker, and she must have everything related to the Sarutobis."

"But what you said does not concern the culprit himself, right? What made you so sure that Hanabi-sama had an involvement in this?"

Naruto sighed. There's really no talking with these Hyuugas… "Look, it's either you join me and we all see things for ourselves. Or, you could sit and meditate all day on your porch thinking just how is this related to your cousin."

Neji was silent. Even if he didn't like the blonde, he does have a point. He is aware of his greater cousin's position in the Player's world. And that position alone means that she's either dealing or getting herself into dangerous business. But if what Naruto said is true—that Hanabi had been unknowingly selling information about the Sarutobis to people who are looking for the killer—then the Sarutobis are in grave danger. Why? Some of these… contract takers might be the killer pretending to be taking the contract. And with the information that he or she had from Hanabi, the culprit's plans will work smoothly even with people looking after him or her. Allowing the culprit to succeed will mean that the Sarutobis will suffer, and as a person… he could not let that happen. Even if it were to happen, his cousin will still be involved and a great possibility is that she will be charged for having a hand in the matter—regardless if it was intentional or not—if she were to be found out.

Neji knows that he couldn't act on his own… even if Hanabi is no longer involved, he still can't cast aside the idea of letting someone suffer just because a person is doing something as reckless and pointless—not to mention—selfish as this. This is just a sick, twisted work of fate… if it is, then he refused to just stand here and wait.

With eyes holding mighty conviction, Neji spoke, "I'll go."

Naruto smiled. "Good. It's easier to explain things if we all meet up altogether." Naruto threw something towards Neji, to which the long haired boy caught with ease. "There are instructions in there; I want you to follow them and do as they are written. When it's time to move out, I'll contact you."

"…'Us'?... so it's just not you and me?" The lavender eyed teen asked.

"…Do I look like an idiot to you—on second thought, don't answer that, I know I do. Anyway, you'll be working together with some familiar faces." The blonde shuffled through his coat pockets, bringing out his phone. "I'm going to invite you into our…party…but access to it is currently restricted."

Neji could not control the urge to not ask. "…Might I ask why?"

Naruto grinned underneath the shades of the alley. He gave Neji a shrug of his shoulders. "It'll just ruin the surprise. So, I'll call you later. See ya." Suddenly… he's gone.

Neji started off in silence. A few minutes have passed and he finally released a breath that he had been holding the moment the blonde disappeared from his field of vision. That person is too dangerous when he's off his radar. His special skill, **[Byakugan] **is a unique skill. It allows him to look through anything such as; walls, and other material objects. It also grants him a field of view that is 360 degrees. It's an active skill, and even with it secretly activated the moment he met the blonde, he still can't sense his presence moreover see him.

Looking at the particular object in his hand, Neji found it to be a small notepad. He flipped open said notepad, his eyes squinting as they read for the instructions.

"…That guy…" Neji breathed out. He pocketed the notepad into his kimono. "I don't know if he's too smart or dumb…" with that said, the prodigy Hyuuga said nothing more and began to walk out of the alley.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, let me tell you guys quick. School is starting and I'm really going to be busy from this month and possibly onwards. I'll have a sports day event—yes, like the ones in most mangas but not as awesome—in my school and I'm the team's captain. I'll be busy planning and whatnot. So consider this A/N an early reminder of me not being able to upload anything until further notice. **

**Now that that's out of the way… onto the real A/N!**

**I hope that you guys like this chapter. This will hint that there will be a massive plot advancement in the chapters following next. That is if my brain will work fine… anyway, I really appreciate you guys who have been reading my stories and staying with me ever since I started writing my stories. I know that some of them are on hiatus but I'm working on them, I promise that you'll see them again. **

**With that said… hope to you guys had a nice Christmas and New Years. You know I don't since I got sick ever since the start of Christmas…**

**Well, now, hope ya'll have a good day/night!**


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